The Effect of One: Onyx and Topaz
by VanguardThorne
Summary: Richard Thorne is an ordinary kid who does normal things in his life back on Earth in 2013. But when he is offered the chance to discover a whole new universe, how could he say no? Now he must save this universe from it's future and save a man he never thought would need his help. Self Insert, relationships have yet to be determined.
1. Welcome to the New Age

The Effect of One  
Chapter One Reboot

**A/N: Well, I'm back! And not in the way you probably thought I would be, right? Well, I had done some serious thinking and reading of my old fiction, and realized that it didn't sit well with me. The characters were underdeveloped, there were plot holes, as well as large spans of time missing. SO! I decided, oh what the hell, let's start from scratch! Quite a few elements have changed from the original story, which will not be continued. In fact, I may remove it completely, I'm not sure yet. I've introduced some original concepts that I thought might spice things up, so look forward to those. Anyway, I won't jaw any longer, so here's the new Effect of One!**

* * *

I sat at home, staring at my monitor that lit up the dark void that was my room. Typical Friday night, I guess. iTunes was on, blaring my favorite soundtrack to Two Steps From Hell (you can't go wrong with El Dorado) while I was talking to my friend Taylor about tactics for taking out the next boss in Throne of Thunder. He's complete crap at this game, I've had to explain the fight three times now, but our usual go-to player is offline tonight. Something about 'having a life.'

"No, Taylor, I have no idea what a Qon is, that's probably just his name! Just… that's not important! Focus, should be a simple tank and spank, got it? We'll have some environment awareness, but I'll pass that on to the damage guys, don't worry about it," I explained. His questions were dumb as all hell, not even concerning the fight itself. Go pro or go home, I always say.

"Yeah, yeah, I know the _fight_, but _why_ are we killing him? What's the story behind this guy? Is he a bad dude, like that dragon thing we fought earlier, or is it like the turtle, forced against his will?" he pestered, continuing to get on my nerves.

"Fuck if I know, Taylor! Just pull!" I know I shouldn't get worked up over stuff like this, but we've been in here for two and a half hours! Before Taylor could offer a reply, I interrupted him with a message sent in the chat box. "If it helps, Antonio said that he eats small babies for lunch," I snickered as I repeated the blue message that blinked on my screen.

"Good enough for me!" he replied, charging straight into the beast that Iron Qon rode upon. I sighed, since now he was going to die without letting the healers know he was pulling. In a desperate plea to keep him alive, I started putting some healing over time spells that would barely do the job.

"Damn it, man, if we wipe the raid, you're paying my repair bill!" I scoffed sarcastically, switching my target from Taylor to the Iron Qon. Another blue message popped up, and I quickly read what was written before turning back to the fight. After a second, I did a double take to make sure I read that right.

[CerberusAgent314] whispers: look out your window.

Who the hell was CerberusAgent314? He wasn't in the raid group, and a quick scouting of my friends list yielded the same results. Slightly worried, I pushed myself out from under the desk in my room and stood up, lifting the blinds. Under the glow of the moon, I couldn't see anything in particular that stood out as abnormal. Must be just some guy thinking he was funny or something. I put it out of my mind and went back to the raid.

"Welcome back, Mr. Raid Leader! Want to do some actual leading, or should we call Collins in here to fill for you while you go 'get a life' like Martin?" Taylor taunted when I put my headset back on.

"Want to do some actual tanking before I replace your ass?" I shot back, albeit slightly more harsh than I meant it. "Look, just focus on the raid. I'm just a bit distracted, that's it." This was beginning to feel like the beginning of a scary movie. Cryptic messages telling you to look outside, and when I do, nothing is there. Next thing you know, I'm going to get a phone call with some heavy breathing on the other line.

[CerberusAgent314] whispers: Sorry about that. Please, look outside again.  
To [CerberusAgent314]: Who the hell is this?  
[CerberusAgent314] whispers: Everything will make sense soon. Look out the window.

"Guys… hold on," I said to the rest of the raid, noticing a bit of worry leak out of my voice. Like before, I took off my headset and stood up to the window. I lifted the blinds. Scanning the outside, it looked exactly the same as the last time. I was about to sit back down with a sigh of relief when a glint of light caused me to hold my breath. "What the hell is that?"

I ran to my back door and turned on the floodlights that would allow me to get a better sight of whatever was out there. As I fiddled with the switch, four knocks on the window of my door caused my blood to chill. I turned slowly to see a masked face staring directly back at me. He simply repeated the four knocks, maintaining the same rhythm as before. I slowly stumbled away, backing into the corner on the other side of the room. My phone started vibrating in my pocket, so I quickly took it out and tried to figure out what to do. I got a text message that said, 'Open the door. I will not hurt you.'

How the hell was he doing this? It didn't even look like he moved his arms to send the message! And how did he get my number? Who the hell was this guy?! I was about to dial the police when the sound of something breaking caused my eyes to shoot up. The handle that opened the back door was turning a red hot, and slowly began to become disfigured. I could only stare in awe as the man behind the door literally melted my door knob. Now, the door easily pushed open, and nothing stood between me and this mysterious armored man. "Wha…what do you want?!" I stammered.

"I am here to end your pathetic existence!" he roared, drawing the weapon on his back and pointing it at me. I covered my eyes and prepared for the worst. So this was how it ends, I thought. Personally, I always saw myself going down in a car accident (you wouldn't believe the traffic in this city, man), but I guess 'Death by Android' never really made it on the list. By now, you must've obviously noticed that I went on a rant, and I'm not dead yet. I slowly opened my eyes to see the mask lifted and revealing a human face with a wild grin. "Gotcha! Say, got some orange juice?"

* * *

So here I am, completely mad, sitting with a fully armed soldier with weapons I'm almost certain don't exist yet, drinking a glass of orange juice from my fridge. The second I opened my fridge, it turned into a feeding frenzy, and the guy had cleaned out like half my stocks. "So… you _aren't _here to kill me, then?"

"What? No, of course not! Actually, I've come to offer you something extraordinary! It comes from my boss, who is an… anonymous benefactor. You'll meet him soon enough. Again, sorry about eating your rations. Multiversal travel drains the crap out of you, especially if you miss. Which is why you didn't see me the first time."

"Multiversal travel? What the hell is that? You're not from Earth?" I asked, sipping my drink cautiously.

"Born and raised here, actually. Just not from this time. Or this Universe, really. Basically, alternate realities exist and are all folded up among each other. Occasionally, the barrier between these universes break, causing small amounts of what we call 'psychological debris' to flow through. These manifest in the mind of the inhabitants of the receiving dimension, creating what you know as books, movies, video games, and other entertainment," he explained while wolfing down a salami sandwich.

"So you… you're from Earth, but from the future as well as an alternate timeline?" I investigated. I was eyeing his gun, which looked far too advanced for this time period, but at the same time, it was also strangely familiar.

"Pretty much. Anything beyond that is above my pay grade, and I really don't want to know. Makes my head hurt, you know? Anyway, the reason I'm here is my boss, who will again remain anonymous, is offering you the job of a lifetime. And, to be honest, kid… my orders were not to leave unless you were with me. But I'm confident you'll make the right decision."

"Make the right… Hold on, I still haven't the slightest clue who you are! So far, you've told me that you come from another universe, and that you work for someone who won't even tell me his name! You can't quite possibly believe that I'll go with you knowing only what I know!" I exclaimed, slamming my hands into the table we were sitting at.

"I can believe that, because what I'm about to tell you will change your mind." He pulled himself out from the table and got closer to me. "I'm Corporal Topaz, Cerberus Strike Force. In my universe, we were destroyed in a war between man and machines. Countless other civilizations fell, and my boss believes that you will be able to change the course of events to alter this future."

"Cerberus… You're from Cerberus… which means your boss is the Illusive Man! What the hell does the Illusive Man want with me? I'm not interested in your pro-human crap!" I shouted, mostly in disbelief about what was going on than to get my point across about Cerberus.

"Look, man, I'm just the messenger. I realize that this must come as a shock to you, considering the fact that where I come from is probably a movie here or something, but you've got to consider what's at stake here. My universe is going to go through this war again, with or without you. We're doing all we can to make sure that we win this time, but the odds are against us," he explained, sitting back down in his spot and taking another bite out of his sandwich.

"But how… what can I do? Why me? I can't fire a gun above a .22 caliber, and I'm not biotic or anything! What can I do that, say, a trained marine from this world can't? What makes _me _so important?" I asked, growing more frustrated by the second. He was offering more questions than answers, and it was starting to get on my nerves.

"Let me tell you, bud. Everyone is important, and anyone can make a difference. In my thirty years of travel across the Galaxy as a mercenary, I have never met anyone who was insignificant. We all have a role to play, and yours just happens to be elsewhere. If you need, I can give you time to say goodbye. We're dragging you out of your life to one filled with war and destruction, where death will be your one true companion. I think we can spare the time to bid final farewells." I nodded slowly and understandingly. If this was true… I was going to the Mass Effect universe. And, to be honest, I would have been drawn to it anyway. My friends always say that I was born in the wrong time period, that I belonged in space. Now, I guess I was getting the chance to do just that.

I sprinted back into my room, where Taylor was waiting for my return. "Richard, where the hell did you go? We wiped, and the healer decided to bail. The whole thing fell apart without you!" he shouted through the microphone.

"Taylor… I've gotta go. I'm taking an… unexpected trip. Send a message to my folks for me, will ya? I'm not going to be back for… well, I don't know how long I'll be gone, but it may be awhile. Just tell them… that I'm sorry. For everything. Got it?"

"Damn, dude, everything alright? You can't just uproot yourself out of college like that, you know. They won't give you a refund. Besides, the way you're talking, it sounds like you expect to die or something! Where the hell are you going?" he inquired intently, moving noticeably closer to his microphone.

"I don't know. But it's going to be one hell of a journey, I'd say."

* * *

"Ready, kid?" Topaz asked. I nodded solemnly, carrying a duffle bag of odds and ends I threw together from my closet. "Won't be needing that, to be honest. It'll be a bit out dated, and we can get new clothes there while buying armor and guns."

"I'd prefer to keep something of my old life, thank you very much," I replied sharply, increasing the grip on my bag. "So what happens to you during this? You're from the future, you know as much as I do. But isn't there a past Topaz out there, and won't two of you… break the universe or something?"

"Well, time is a bit… complicated, to put it simply. People assume that time is a strict progression from cause to effect, but from a non-linear, non-subjective point of view, it is actually a big ball of wibbly wobbly… timey wimey… stuff."

"You just quoted the Doctor… word for word…"

"Doctor who?

"Yes! No! Wait… oh, never mind, let's just get this over with…"

"You could be a bit more excited, kid. You get to start a new life, fresh and different! Plus, to make it better, you get to spend it with Uncle Topaz here! We're going to have so much fun, you and I! So, without further ado, I give you… 2175!" A bright flash of light appeared before me, and a swirling vortex of various colors sent me into some kind of trance. It was incredible! I was being drawn closer to it, and I could tell even Topaz was being affected by its majesty.

When I touched the event horizon of the vortex, I felt something pull me towards it strongly. Then, there was nothing but darkness.

* * *

**A/N: I hoped you liked the first chapter! I'll be releasing the first four chapters right away, just to make up for being gone for awhile. So I guess I'll see you in like ten seconds after you read this :D**


	2. Do You Even Soldier?

The Effect of One  
Chapter Two Reboot

**A/N: Hello, everyone! Once again, I bring you another chapter of The Effect of One! I've got nothing really to say, so we'll get right to it. Enjoy!**

* * *

I woke up on a cool, metal-like surface. My back was killing me, and I feel like I had gotten into a head butting match with a krogan. For a second, I thought I had passed out on the floor of my room after a long night of gaming or something. Then I remembered. "Shit…"

Finding the strength to stand, I pulled myself up against a wall for support, but my shirt caught on a sign that was shining bright, neon colors in my face. I attempted to read what it said, but the language was written in appeared nothing more than odd scribbles. If I didn't know any better, I'd say this was Chinese or something, but clearly, this was alien in nature. I heard a groaning behind me, which reminded me of my new traveling companion that brought me here in the first place. "Well, that didn't go as well as the last few times…" he grunted, pulling himself off the floor.

While he was recuperating, I had regained full motor functions, and the soreness in my muscles was gone. Buzzing around like a small child, I was running from one thing to another. Everything was new! That computer terminal, this futuristic rail guard thing, and even the freaking floor looked like something out of Star Trek! Or, you know, Mass Effect… but who cares! From what I gathered, we were on some kind of space ship or station. "Where are we?"

"Huh, I thought you'd recognize the Citadel when you saw it, but who am I to judge? By the looks of it, we're on the Kithoi Ward. Good thing, too. This method of travel is a bit unpredictable, and we're lucky to not be spaced! Speaking of Multiversal travel… looks like we won't be doing any more of it. The device runs on Reapari Energy, which is emitted by the Reapers' weapons. Since they're not here yet, we won't be able to do that without a shit ton of Reapari Energy Cells. I've got just enough for our purposes, but not enough for another trip…" he explained, but began trailing off.

"So we're stuck here until the Reapers arrive?" I asked.

"Yup, looks like it! Now, I've been preparing for this mission since 2180! Which I guess is six years in the future… but for me, that's five years ago, so that's quite a long time. I've got the coordinates to a warehouse we'll use for your training as well as my quarters, where we'll be sleeping."

"What kind of training will I be doing?" It was a fair question, to be honest. I mean, I've never fired anything heavier than a .22 caliber rifle at Boy Scout camp years ago. Would I be a soldier, using various ammo types and combat stims to tear through enemies? Or maybe an infiltrator! I could get a tactical cloak and slit the throats of those who get in my way!

"Vanguard." Wait, what?! I'm not a biotic! I can't be! It's impossible, there hasn't been signs or anything that would indicate that I could even make my hands glow, let along fling orbs of pure energy at people! Plus, I've never been exposed to eezo, considering it wasn't discovered in my world yet.

"How-" I started, but was quickly interrupted.

"When you traveled through the Multiversal Vortex using the Reapari Matrix, you were exposed to massive amounts of Reapari Energy, which is much more powerful than Element Zero, as well as non-lethal in its pure form. It also doesn't require an amp, since the raw power itself is amplified enough. I've got it too, which is why the Illusive Man chose me to be the one to train you," he explained while rummaging through his gear. "Here, I was instructed to give this to you without looking at the contents."

He handed me a sleek black band which I could only assume was an omnitool. I slid it on, and immediately, an orange interface jumped to life and began running diagnostics about me. Once the standard procedures were done, it linked with an account that was stored on the extranet. "How do I have an identity here?" I asked.

"The Illusive Man wasn't going to throw his new secret weapon into the big bad world only to be caught by C-Sec and held for illegal immigration, kid. He prepared you an identity and a future. The next year has been planned to assimilate you into this new universe, but then the rest of the eight years before the Reaper Wars begin is up to you. Even I won't know what comes next. All I've been told is to just leave you to naturally make decisions, and this will somehow save the universe. Crazy shit, am I right?"

"I guess… So I assume I'll be joining Commander Shepard and his/her crew?"

"Yeah, you'll join her. We've got a plan to get you in, but don't worry about that. Today, we're going shopping. Tomorrow, we begin you're training as an Elite Vanguard!" he shouted in excitement. I must agree, it sounded pretty awesome. I was going to get to learn how to fire advanced weapons that are a hundred years more complex than those at home while learning to wield powers beyond my comprehension. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad here after all…

We were walking through a shop on the Kithoi Ward that sold several different kinds of weapons and armor sets. I was browsing the shotguns while Topaz was bartering with the owner, probably trying to score a discount or something. I wasn't sure what I thought about Topaz yet. He seemed like a good guy, but a bit on the wild side. Granted, the most memorable event I've experienced with him so far includes him eating my food, so I'm allowed to harbor a bit of suspicion.

I didn't even notice when Topaz went into the back room, as I was so enthralled the sheer amount of weaponry that was mounted on the wall in front of me. I could hear them going through some crates or something, as metal was clamoring on the ground as if it was tossed in disregard. Maybe they were looking at different compositions of armor or something, I haven't the slightest clue. While holding an assault rifle, I heard the start of some commotion outside. "Please… what are you doing?"

"You should know not to fuck with the boss, asari. You do, and he might just decide to turn the tables," a vile, cruel voice laughed outside the doors. Acting on instinct, I quickly ran outside and opened the doors, assault rifle still in hand.

"What the _hell_ is going on?" I shouted, drawing the attention of the owner of the previous voice. It was the unmistakable flanging voice of a turian.

"Walk away, human, before you get hurt," he scoffed in my direction, never actually looking directly at me. Not quite appreciating him ignoring me with my totally awesome assault rifle, to be honest. Plus, he had nothing to defend himself with; the only weapon on him was the omnitool blade that was on the asari's throat.

"Sorry, turian, I don't think so," I replied, slapping the side of the assault rifle for emphasis. He turned with what looked like a growl coming up his throat, but quickly faded away when he saw I was armed. "Back away from the lady, and you can just walk away."

"You humans think you just own the universe! This is none of your business, yet here you are, intervening in a problem that _doesn't concern you_!" he exclaimed.

"I'd say the young miss here would agree that this _does_ concern me. So back off, or we're going to have a problem on our hands," I answered, pointing the gun directly at him. He raised his arms and deactivated his omnitool blade. "Get out of here, turian, and stay away from this fine young lady or I'll fire a bullet in your ass!"

The turian began to take off, and I waltzed up to the asari, who was still backed up against the wall. By now, the turian was far behind me, and we were safe. For the moment. I wasn't sure if the Kithoi Ward was the lower class area of the Citadel or not, but so far, that's what it seemed to be. "Th…thank you for saving me," the asari whispered, starting to calm down.

"Hey, don't mention it. My name's Richard, by the way. Now, come on into this store here. It's safe, I promise. My friend's in there, and he would've backed me up if things went south," I told her. "So, what's your name?"

"Terissia," she answered weakly.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. We'll give you a lift to your place, or if you'd prefer, to the C-Sec offices to report this," I assured her as the door slid open. Topaz and the owner were once again at the counter, discussing prices or something. This time, however, there was a large case with what I assumed was armor inside, as well as three new weapons hanging on his back. "Topaz, we all set here?"

"Just about, kid. Who's your friend?" he asked, glancing over at Terissia. "Enjoying the commodities of this universe already, I see."

"A schmuck outside was trying to… details, details. Point is, I promised sweet Terissia here safe passage to either her place or C-Sec," I answered him as I put the assault rifle back on the mount I took it off of. Man, I was so glad that bluff worked, as it would've ended badly for the both of us. "Think we can comply?"

"Sure, I don't see why not. Now, Short Round here is trying to make me purchase the lot for ten thousand credits, but I've told him that I won't go above eight point five," he exclaimed with renewed fervor. Man, Topaz sure knew how to barter. Even I felt intimidated. Remind me never to play poker with him, he'll take me for all I'm worth. Which, currently, isn't much.

"I apologize… Earth Clan, but I… have to make a… living as well… right?" he said in the characteristic volus voice, taking gasps between words. "Nine… is as low… as I'll go…"

"Deal," Topaz says immediately, exchanging the credits between their omnitools. "Richard, take the armor case. I'll carry the weapons. I've got the sky-car on the landing pad nearby, only a short walk away. We'll help the lovely Terissia home, then head to the flat," he explained as I gripped the handle of the case.

* * *

"Again," Topaz ordered me, to which I took another deep breath. I lifted my arm up again and released whatever energy I thought was building up. Just like the last thirty times, small red sparks flew from the palm of my hand, but I was still unable to generate a visible Reapari field. Reapari, unlike Mass Effect Fields, are actually a red color versus the characteristic purple-blue. Topaz told me that the absence of the Reapers was making it difficult to create a field, but soon, I would be able to convert eezo to Reapari. Once the Reapers arrived, the sudden burst in Reapari would greatly boost my powers, and even Topaz didn't know the extent of what would happen. "Again."

We did this training exercise for several hours, concentrating on generating some kind of sustainable field. After seven hundred and forty two attempts, according to my omnitool, I was able to create a crimson red field around my hand and hold it for several minutes before I had to release or risk fainting. "How… was that…?"

"It was actually pretty good, kid. I expected you to pass out, to be honest. I'm surprised you've lasted this long, but I'm more shocked that you actually got a field up and running," he assured me, helping me off my knees. "Now we go to fire arms training! Who likes shotguns?"

I followed Topaz to a makeshift range, where boxes were stacked up in rows. At the end of each row stood a powered down mech, probably a LOKI model. For the first time, I picked up a loaded weapon and aimed it down range. Flipping off the safety like Topaz instructed, the reticule of the shotgun fell on the chest of the mech and I prepared to pull the trigger. When I did… well, I must've flown two feet backwards onto my ass. "Shit!"

"Ha! That has to be a new record or something! You got some air, kid, but the stance is all wrong. Once you get in armor, the stabilizers will help out, but I want you to be able to fire a weapon without outside aid. Be ready for every situation, you know?" He walked up right behind me and guided my arms, legs, and waist to the proper position. "Like this, see? Now fire."

I pulled the trigger for a second time, and unlike last attempt, I didn't fall backwards. The recoil sent a sharp pain up my shoulder, however, and I could tell that prolonged use of this shotgun would absolutely kill my upper torso. I looked down range to see smoking bullet holes in the wall behind the mech, but the machine itself was untouched. "Damn…"

"Hey, you didn't fall on your ass this time. That's a success, right? Now, we're going to continue weapons training until your arm is about to fall out of its socket, got it? The Illusive Man won't accept failure as an option, so neither will I! This time, try to actually hit the target, will you?" I nodded and got back into position. While aiming the gun, I thought about what happened back at the shop in the Kithoi Ward. Poor Terissia, I thought, having to commute to and from work in such a place. We escorted her safely home, where she thanked us and offered to provide dinner for our help. I wanted to agree, but Topaz said we had to get straight to work. Killjoy.

But what if the turian was armed? My assault rifle wasn't loaded with an ammo block, I was merely calling a bluff. Topaz didn't seem to bothered that I risked my life to save the asari, but I was just starting to realize how important that moment was. If I was killed, then this entire universe would be screwed out of existence! I would have to be far more prepared before I even consider attempting something like that again.

We continued weapons practice for another hour, until the recoil from the shotgun became too much for me to continue to handle. We called it a day on physical practice and went to work on managing tech. Unlike the game, I wasn't restricted to moves per class. I asked Topaz if I could have a stealth cloak, but he said that kind of technology can mess with mass effect fields and, in turn, Reapari fields. Some were able to get around it, but it wasn't exactly common. But I was actually able to use simple tech abilities, such as Overload or Hack. He downloaded the apps to my omnitool and taught me how to direct an energy surge at enemies. Hacking was a bit more complicated, considering it required some effort on my part instead of a program running all of it, but by the end of the day, I could easily hack the security network of a datapad.

I asked him if I would be able to do more advanced tech abilities, like Snap Freeze or Incinerate. Topaz replied with, "Why would you want to? With Reapari Fields, you'll be able to so much more than that." So now, I'm looking forward to Reapari Field training. I guess I never really gave the Vanguard class enough credit.

The next day, I woke up to the sound of machines at work. The flat we were staying in was pretty nice, but it was a palace compared to the Ward we were operating in. Kithoi Ward was a mess, which is a surprise, because they only really let you explore the Zakera Ward. I guess they wanted to give you the illusion that the entire Citadel was a beacon of high class. Anyway, machines. Downstairs, I could hear what I believe was welding. When I got there, I saw a makeshift workbench created into the corner of the living room. On it was a set of armor that I could only assume was mine. "Topaz?"

"Morning, sunshine! I thought I'd give you one last day of sleeping in before we begin your training program, which is going to kick your ass into shape!" he exclaimed over the roar of his welding torch.

"Looking forward to it…" I grumbled, making my way over to the fridge to grab some orange juice and a bagel. "So, what're you working on?"

"Your armor. I bought a pretty decent model for you, but I took some schematics from other alternate universes I visited on my way to picking you up. Some were advanced, others were lightweight. Just bits and pieces, really, but I think I can whip them up into something great! Anyway, Terissia stopped by again to say thanks, but I told her that you were sleeping and shouldn't be disturbed. Eat up, and in an hour, we'll begin Reapari training again," he replied with a mischievous grin on his face.

"As long as I'll eventually be able to shoot fire from my hands, I'll go through whatever training you need me to," I answered, taking another bite out of my bagel. "So, if it's 2175… we have _eight_ years until Shepard shows up. What the hell will we do in that time?"

"Well, first up, we need to train you. Second, I've got a contact that'll set us up with some work. We'll do some mercenary work, make a name for ourselves, and use that as leverage to get the attention of either the Alliance or Shepard herself. Then you go along as normal, using your knowledge to do whatever you deem fit. I'm not supposed to interfere in anyway, because otherwise this won't work if I do," he explained.

"Mercenary work? You mean like working with the Blue Suns or Eclipse? I'm not sure I can do that, Topaz. In game, a lot of what they did included the kinds of things that would make you sick if you had any part in them," I told him, taking another bite out of my bagel.

"No, we'll probably do a bit of freelancing. We want nothing to do with the Big Three, because those guys are bad news. Plus, if the Alliance links you to having contacts in the Big Three, they'll probably arrest you or something. By the way, someone wants to talk to you. Hopefully, he'll answer some of your questions that I can't," he replied, pointing to the back room. "In there should be a Quantum Entanglement Communicator. I know it shouldn't exist, don't go yelling at me for screwing up canon, alright?"

I laughed a bit and downed the rest of my orange juice. I pushed the door open, finding a large circular device with a lot more wires than I care to count coming out of it. Shrugging my shoulders, I stepped into it. How disorienting could it be?

Holy shit! The entire world around me dissolved to form kind of a grid-like environment that, to be honest, reminded me of something out of TRON. I attempted to regain my balance, but it was awkward with nothing to hold on to. "Difficult to get used to, but you'll have to if you want to keep your job." Well, hello there, Martin Sheen! "Nice to meet the savior of the galaxy in person. I'd thought you'd be taller."

Once I stopped making myself look like an idiot, I composed myself and looked ahead of me. The swirling nova thing in the background mesmerized me for a moment, but I gathered my attention and focused it on the man sitting in front of me. "Hello, Illusive Man. Or can I call you Harper?"

"If you think you can surprise me with the extent of your knowledge, you'll only be disappointed, Richard Thorne. I know everything, up to and including my death. I know I get indoctrinated, and I know that I'll be one pain in the ass. Which is why I needed to speak to you," he replied cryptically.

"And what reason might that be?"

"I need you to make sure that I don't become an obstacle in Shepard's way. The tricky part is, she'll need me to fight the Collectors. So, in between then and the events of the Reaper Wars, I need you to make sure that I won't be the cause of the end of the galaxy."

"You want me to save you from indoctrination?" I asked, intrigued. This was changing major canon, and I wasn't sure if I was cool with that. Most of my information regarding Mass Effect 3 would be changed, and I would go in blind. But, if it meant saving the whole of existence, I guess I could settle with those odds.

"Personally, yes. But that shouldn't be your top priority. In the next few years, you will experience many things that will change you as a person. Do not let them. The reason why we have brought you here is because of who you are and what you do. If that changes, then we'll all pay the price," he answered solemnly. "On that wonderfully happy note, I want to wish you luck during training. Topaz has been trained by some of my top operatives, and has even served alongside Miranda Lawson, of which I'm sure you're familiar with. You'll end up being one of the strongest soldiers in my arsenal."

"Just to be clear," I start, unsure of how to approach this topic. It was kinda touchy, but for my sake, I had to make this known, "I do not work for Cerberus. Your ideals don't suit me, and your methods can sometimes be a bit brutal."

"Good to hear. The time will come when you'll have to make that apparent once more, and I hope you'll say the same thing. I wish you a good day, Richard Thorne, and I hope next we meet… it will be in better circumstances." Before I could ask what he meant, his image was replaced with the grid I saw before, and I was told to leave the Communicator.

* * *

**A/N: So the mission is clear: Can Thorne save the Illusive Man from his inevitable fate? And how will this change the course of galactic history? Well, you'll have to read to find out! Also, I thought, _man! Biotics are kinda boring, since they're in every story one way or the other!_ So I thought, why not make my own version of biotics? It's got its drawbacks, like the scarring and having to recharge, but it'll allow for some interesting shenanigans as the story progresses! Tell me what you think, and hopefully any questions will be answered in the next chapter or so if it confuses you. Anyway, again, I'll be off!**


	3. Rise of Cobalt

The Effect of One  
Chapter Three Reboot

**A/N: Howdy, once again! Enough with training shenanigans, right? It's time to see some action! Well... not quite yet. Maybe a little. You'll have to read to find out!**

* * *

It was approximately a week after the conversation with the Illusive Man when I finally started to make some significant progress in my abilities. I got the hang of generating Reapari fields, and was able to project them a small distance. In short, I had the ability to push objects in my immediate vicinity. Even though this might not seem like much, Topaz said it was a huge step in mastering Reapari. Unlike biotics, which utilize eezo that is generated in nodes embedded in body tissue, Reapari draws energy particles from the surrounding area. Of course, neither eezo nor Reapari is just floating around in the air we breathe (at least not in mass quantities), so I've had to find other sources.

My body absorbed mass amounts of Reapari when I came to this dimension as a side effect to Multiversal travel. These, when reacting to my body tissues, created organic nodes inside me. They can generate small amounts of Reapari, but must be exposed to an outside source of Reapari or the nodes will begin to decay. Unfortunately, the Reapari won't show up until Sovereign does, which is in eight freaking years. Honestly, I don't know what the hell I'll do in that time. Topaz has a small storage of Reapari in his flat which will hold us up until Sovereign gets here, but isn't enough to use the Reapari Matrix and do some time travel again. Topaz had to take a canister once every six months to keep his powers at maximum efficiency, while I had to take one every three months since my powers were still developing.

I've gotten sidetracked. Reapari training was going well enough, but I was making much more visible progress with firearms. Topaz had given me my armor after four days of unarmored firearm training, which was dreadful. My shoulder had so many bruises on it at one point, the entire skin was a sickly gray with yellow spots. But when I was able to hit a target ten out of ten times efficiently, he gave me my set of armor.

When Topaz said he went to other universes before finally stopping to mine, he seriously meant it. Holy shit, man, he had welded me up a set of insane looking armor. It had a mask that reminded me mysteriously of the infamous Recon Helmet that so many desperately sought after. Better yet, he showed me that when I pushed a button on my wrist, the helmet folds back, Dead Space style. I didn't believe him until he showed me himself, and damn… The rest of the armor looked a bit like ODST armor, but maintained that 'Mass Effect' feel that the game had. I took the case it was in and ran off like a kid on Christmas to put the beauty on.

After locking the last shoulder pad on, I walked out feeling like committing some grade-A debauchery. Within this metal shell, I felt stronger… more acute, I guess. I can't really describe it, but it felt like my home away from home. The UI booted up to give me a sleek interface that gave me all the information I would need: shield levels, potential health issues, and weapon heat levels. A semi-transparent crimson bar on the right side of my vision confused me, considering that you didn't have 'health bars' in real life. You either got shot or you didn't. "Topaz, what's this red bar?"

"Those are your Reapari levels. They recharge over time, but if it's empty, then don't use your abilities, because otherwise it'll start cause scarring on your skin from over exertion of the nodes. The scars don't really do anything, but I would still recommend avoiding them, because we haven't done extensive Reapari research. It was relatively new when I left," Topaz explained. "But, if you want to look like a badass, check these out." He pulled his shirt off, where red-like veins were beginning to develop on his shoulder and neck. He flared his reapotics (that's what I'm calling it now), and the veins glowed a crimson hue, like power was coursing through his veins.

"That's sick… but I'd prefer to keep myself unscarred, thanks," I told him while trying to extend a reapotic field over my weapon, attempting to bring it closer for me to snatch out of the air. With an extreme effort, I got the shotgun to float over to me with a single hand. I had begun to sweat intensely, though, and I could see the crimson bar begin to deplete very quickly. By the time I got the gun into my hand, the bar was almost completely empty, and I felt exhausted.

"Nice work. Let's see how the armor helps with your firearms training. Shotguns are the hardest, other than sniping, so I wanted to get you accustomed to recoil. After, we'll begin some pistol training and assault rifle training, and you can take your pick." I nodded and let out a deep breath. The mech on the other side of the range was standing still, as usual, and riddled with bullet holes. I braced for the recoil and fired a round across the range, hitting the target spot on. Unlike without armor, I barely felt a thing! Renewed with a sense of empowerment, I let several more rounds fly at the mech. Each shot hit it directly in the upper torso region, to which I was aiming.

"You bastard!" I shouted in laughter at Topaz. "You were hiding this set of armor from me because you knew I'd be better!" Topaz let out a chuckle before he took the shotgun out of my hands. "What gives?"

"You know how to fire a shotgun, so we won't be doing that training anymore. We're going to cut back on firearms training, since you've got the basics. Instead, we're going to begin endurance training. You've got to get in shape, and with this program I've got planned, you'll be at the peak of physical health in a month! Well, maybe two…"

Ah, shit…

"Look at it like this, kid. At the end of endurance training, we get to begin combat training! Ah, that was the best part of my childhood, you know. These mechs that I have stored up here actually work, Richard. And we're going to set up a training course for you to beat! It'll be great!" Man, his childhood must've sucked if he had to go through all this at such a young age. But endurance training… I can only imagine that that would include hours of running and pushups or something…

* * *

It was a month and a half later when Topaz finally cleared me from endurance training… holy balls, by the end of that, I was ripped. He fed me this weird futuristic muscle building crap that, if I took it back home, would probably be classified as steroids or something. But my omnitool told me that I hadn't ingested any form of chemicals, and that this was krogan food or something. The way he said it made it sound like he kept one as a pet… how the hell do you keep a krogan as a pet? Those guys can rip Topaz apart if they wanted to, and I was no exception.

The point is, I had bulked up pretty quickly. Much more quickly than I'd have thought possible. I could lift two hundred pounds with relative ease and run approximately three and a half miles before I began to 'feel the burn.' I wasn't sure if this was the peak of military fitness, but if I had to go any higher, I probably would have ended up killing myself with exhaustion. The fact that it was good enough for Topaz is enough for me.

Reapotic training was going very well. The way Topaz described the nodes is as a kind of muscle that you have to flex. The more you flex it, the stronger it gets. By now, I could lift Topaz off the ground and suspend him there for a few minutes before my Reapari bar became depleted. More than enough time to suspend Geth and fill them with bullet holes, right?

Topaz also let me know that we were going to begin mercenary work very soon. He had a list of destinations that his contact had given him, but he didn't want me to see it. Said it was a surprise or something, but I'm not sure what he meant by that. I wasn't quite okay with doing mercenary work, since I'll have to kill people, but I've got to do it sometime. Saren isn't going to stop and decide last minute that he's a bit crazy. Well, he _might_, but that depends on the Shepard, I guess.

I was helping Topaz set up the combat training area, which consisted mostly of boxes forming a maze inside the warehouse we worked in. The place had a decent size, and we could stack quite a few of the boxes to form steep walls. When I couldn't lift anymore until my Reapari recharged, I would perform some tech work on the mechs. I could change their efficiency setting, which I assumed was for the purpose of training. I set it to about medium and relayed the information to the rest of the mechs that I would be fighting. The mechs would be firing stun rounds, so although it won't kill me, it'll pack one hell of a punch that'll be enough incentive to not go around getting shot. So far, I'm actually looking forward to this. It reminds me of that small little training mission you get at the beginning of Call of Duty, where you have to hit the cardboard people. Only these cardboard people shoot back. A lot.

* * *

I was walking through the streets of the Kithoi Ward, running a few errands for Topaz while he finished constructing the training course. He needed a few extra circuits to repair the drones I shot to pieces during stationary training as well as a few more ammo blocks to load into them. Apparently, Cerberus had used them extensively recently, whatever that means. I had just purchased the ammo blocks when I walked passed a familiar blue face on the street. "Terissia, funny running into you here!"

She whirled around with a grin on her face and reached out with a hug. "Richard! I haven't seen you in at least two weeks! How've you been? You look great!"

"I workout," I joked, flexing my arm. "I've been great, yeah. How've you been holding up? Anyone you need me to beat up again?"

"No, I got a new job. After you saved me, I refused to work with those sleazy turians again. I wanted to quit for a long time, but every time I threatened, they… well, you know. But since then, they haven't bothered me!" she exclaimed in glee.

"Good to hear, Terissia! Who'd you work for before?"

"Cobalt and his goons. That turian you scared off was one of his lackeys that wanted me to keep my mouth shut about the operations I saw. The stuff he's got running… he has an entire Red Sand production facility right underneath C-Sec's nose!"

"Who the hell is Cobalt?"

"He's a big crime lord on the Citadel, mostly dabbling in Red Sand dealings, but he has contacts in everything. The man that I worked for was Rook, and he ran a Red Sand plant on this ward. If I hadn't gotten out of there when I did, I don't know what would've happened. C-Sec Internal Affairs is beginning a huge crackdown, and that means cleaning up the Citadel. If C-Sec wants to weaken Cobalt's powerbase, they should start with him," she explained while I got out my omnitool. "What're you doing?"

"Topaz? Yeah, it's Richard. We've got our first target. Yeah, I know I have to go through combat training, but I've got some intel from Terissia that we can interrupt a crime lord's operations on the Citadel, goes by the name of Cobalt. I was thinking we could gather some more information and strike when I've got a bit more under my belt."

_ "Forward what you've got to me, and I'll see what else I can gather. Oh, and tell Terissia I said hello," _Topaz replied, closing communications. I turned to Terissia, who had an expression of fear on her face.

"Don't worry, Teri, we can handle ourselves. This is what we do," I told her to calm her down. It was sort of a lie, considering we hadn't done it _yet_, but we will be. Is that lying? I think it is… I offered to walk her home, to which she agreed. When we got to her apartment, which I remembered from before, she said good night and went upstairs. I began making my way back to the flat, which was on the other side of the Ward. No big deal, right?

"Well, well, well… It looks like we meet again, human. Where's your assault rifle?" a familiar flanging voice whispered in my ear. It was accompanied by the click and cool metal feeling of a handgun on the back of your head. "Oh? You don't have it? Shame, huh? You don't _fuck_ with Cobalt, but more importantly… you don't _fuck_ with me…"

"Hmm, I was wondering if I'd meet you again. Must've felt real stupid when, or should I say _if_, you realized that the assault rifle I had? Yeah, it wasn't loaded. It was fresh off the shelves from the _gun shop_ I walked out of. Cobalt should choose his goons more carefully, don't you agree?" I shot back, cracking my knuckles.

"Wha… that doesn't matter anymore! Point is, I've got a pistol to your head, and you can't do a thing about it!"

"Well, that's not true. Not entirely. You see, you're forgetting one thing, mi amigo. I bet that _you_ didn't know that I can do this," I taunted. In a swift motion, I sent a reapotic wave at him, pushing him back and causing him to recoil in shock. He recovered and aimed his pistol at me, but I pushed it off course and landed a blow to his right cheek. Staggering backwards, I wrestled the pistol from his grasp and got it into my hand. He lunged at me again while I was regaining my balance, so I lifted him up with a Reapari field and suspended him there while I got my footing.

"Hey! Let me go, you filthy, cheating human!" the turian hissed. For a second there, he seemed just like a vorcha. Both were savages, so I didn't see a difference. I lifted the pistol and aimed it at his skull, and he began to panic. "Please, have some sense of decency! I have a wife and a kid!"

"Would you show me the same kind of decency?" I replied, continuing to keep the pistol trained on the middle of his skull. "Would you give me the mercy that you demand of me?" The turian was silently squirming there, and I quickly felt myself running out of power. "Get a new job, move to a new Ward, I don't care! Just… don't let me see you around here again, or I won't be so generous!" I released him and began walking towards the direction of the flat.

I heard him get up. The next sound made me realize what I'd done was a mistake. The sound of an omnitool blade being turned on got my attention, and I swerved around just in time to see him lunge with his new weapon. Right before he reached me, I pulled the trigger of the pistol. With a loud shot, the turian's momentum carried him straight into my arms.

* * *

_Terissia Point of View_

I had just closed the door to my apartment when I thought I heard another voice outside, talking to Richard. I didn't give it much thought, maybe another passerby had decided to chat it up. Besides, he said he was going to take on Cobalt… if he can do that, he can take down a simple street thug, right?

The way he held himself when I first met him almost seems comical now. I was surprised it worked, because the way he was standing with that assault rifle was so ridiculous. Although, that's speaking from hindsight. Even then, he was my knight in shining armor, coming to save me from one of Cobalt's goons. I wasn't even able to recognize that the assault rifle wasn't loaded and that he was an amateur until Topaz pointed it out to me. Nonetheless, I owed him my life, because without him, I wouldn't have been able to make the amends I have since then.

I had begun to unlock my door when I heard it. A gunshot. The worst scenarios began to run through my head, and I sprinted down the stairs to see what was going on. The Kithoi Ward wasn't the friendliest of Wards. I mean, sure, we had the Archives, the Amphitheatre, the Plaza, and tons of other stuff. But on the other end of the spectrum, we had the highest crime level of all the Wards. It wasn't uncommon to hear a gunshot in the night and the familiar siren of C-Sec on the case.

But this time, a friend involved. And, if Richard was hurt… well, I wasn't sure what I'd do. I have no medical training, no medigel… and that's even if he's still alive. I hurriedly pushed the doors to my apartment open and ran outside to see Richard kneeling on the ground, silently weeping. A turian… no, wait. _The_ turian from almost two months ago was lying on the ground, his torso resting in Richard's arms. "Ri…Richard?"

"He… he's dead…" he muttered, gently laying the turian's head down on the Citadel floor. "He's dead, and I didn't even know his name… He gave me no choice, I gave him a chance to go! Teri, you've got to believe me, I didn't want to kill him!"

I brought him into my embrace, holding him as he felt the weight of what he had done rest on his shoulders. Already, I could hear C-Sec sirens rushing to the site of the gunshot. And, as I stared at the man who had convinced me with his tough guy act not moments before, I realized something. This wasn't a man at all… but a young boy. By human standards, he couldn't be older than eighteen! And to kill someone at all, much less at such a young age… Goddess, I couldn't even imagine! And so we sat there until the first C-Sec sky car arrived, just watching the pool of dark blue spread around the recently deceased. And I thought, if he was just a boy… well, he wasn't anymore…

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, that pretty much just happened. So, Richard get's his first kill, and now he's got that weighing down on him. And, yes, that's pretty much how I would react if I killed someone, even if it was in self defense. No tough guy persona, no 'I am such a badass,' and certainly no high fives. Also, on an unrelated note, I would like to take the time to name several fics that are the inspiration for this! Mass Vexations, Masses to Masses, Mass Effect: Spade, and several others have made this possible whereas I would have given up ages ago! Thanks, guys, for making such awesome stories, and I hope to see more to come!**


	4. Red Sand Shakedown

The Effect of One  
Chapter Four Reboot

**A/N: Hey guys! I just thought of this now, but since I'm doing small time jumps (EX: Two Weeks Later / Three Months Later) I thought that I should add a clock-type-thing at the beginning of every chapter. It'll have the date, the location of our heroes, and the TUS (Time Until Shepard). This should help keep things straight for me as well as for you! So, now that's out of the way, I give you Chapter Four!**

* * *

_October 29th, 2175 Common Era. Kithoi Ward, Citadel. TUS: Approx. Eight Years._

It's been three days since I took my first life, and it's been killing me. I knew this was coming, Topaz knew it was coming… but nothing I could've done would have prepared me for the consequences of doing so. C-Sec came and ran my file through, but cleared me for self-defense. Terissia has been stopping by daily to make sure I was okay. The way she looks at me now is different… almost like she pitied me or something. One time, while in the shooting range, I heard Teri and Topaz arguing about something. I could hardly hear them over the sound of sustained assault rifle fire, but I didn't want to know what they were talking about anyway.

One thing wouldn't leave me alone. You see, when I first fired that gun, I thought he had lied to me with the claims of his wife and kid, but… they came to see me. It tore my heart to pieces, seeing them. What was worse… the mother _apologized_ to me! As if she was the one who killed my spouse and the parent of my child! She told me about how he got wrapped up in Cobalt's gang, and how he was too far in to back out. I guess he thought bringing my head to Cobalt would be enough to get out with his family. After she told me that, I had to excuse myself from the room. Grenade training started early.

Since then, my reapotics had grown exponentially. Topaz mentioned something about how emotions can greatly affect the potency of the organic amps, since they were directly linked to my brain waves. To be honest, I don't care. He tried to console me the night after the incident, but it ended with me throwing a large metal cargo box and him. I'll have to apologize for that later.

In regards to the incident, Topaz gave me a few days off to get myself together. No combat training or early mornings. But, to be straight forward, that's exactly what I need right now. Something to take my mind off of the fact that I ended another sentient living creature's life just to preserve my own would do me a world of good. So, until Topaz finishes sorting this whole mess out and decides to restart the combat training, I'm just out and about in the Wards. I've made sure to make myself scarce on the side streets, keeping mostly to main avenues and populated areas. We don't know if Cobalt will lash out for this, but it's just a precaution.

I've actually been making regular trips to the C-Sec offices, as the people there are pretty sympathetic of my circumstances. I've run into Garrus a few times, and to be quite honest, it wasn't as cool as I thought it'd be. We just exchanged pleasantries until Palin yelled at him for conversing with civilians while in the line of duty. I can see why the detective wanted to get out of here so bad. Anyway, the other officers were pretty nice. They would talk to me until they had to go on a call or go off duty, and I learned quite a lot about the Mass Effect Universe that you wouldn't normally know by just playing the game and reading the books. For example, the game had you believe that the Citadel was the Paragon Space Station, while Omega was the Renegade Space Station. But it turns out that the Citadel has slums (which doesn't usually get worse then the shady spots in the Kithoi Ward) and quite a bit of crime.

I got back to the flat at around 10:00 PM, Station Time. Apparently that's late. Sue me for not knowing. Topaz was irritated, but didn't really push it. He wanted to give me some space, which I appreciated, but we needed to continue training. I had to be ready before Shepard arrived, so that way I could be a force to be reckoned with and get on her crew.

"Tomorrow, we begin training again," Topaz told me as I made my way to my room. No other five words would have made me happier at that point in time. Well, maybe 'Large Cheeseburger with medium fries'… You'd think the asari would've thought of meat between two slices of bread, but apparently, it's 'unique' to the human race, so genuine hamburger stands were one in a million on this space station.

Wow, I got sidetracked really easily. Anyway, yeah, we're beginning training again! Finally, I get to test out the awesome combat course that Topaz had finished while I was busy committing murder. I went through it and was thoroughly impressed with the setup he had created, and several matches against mechs in here would have me ready to fight Geth in no time.

The next morning, I was awoken to the sound of a siren. I jumped up and drew my omnitool blade in surprise, causing Topaz to burst out laughing while I just stared daggers at him. "What the hell was that for?"

"You got too used to sleeping in, so I'd thought I'd wake you up in a more… interesting manor," he replied, turning the sound file off on his omnitool. "Now, put that butter knife away before you cut yourself." Reluctantly, I did as he said, and made my way to where I stored my armor. We didn't have an armory, to be honest. It was more of 'that corner where we toss our guns when we don't use them.' Try explaining that to C-Sec. They got a kick out of the Quantum Entanglement Communicator when we told them it was a workout machine. The Illusive Man wouldn't appreciate a C-Sec officer appearing in his place of work, I'd imagine.

In a sleepy trance, I pulled my armor on and used my reapotics to pull my shotgun and assault rifle from the pile of death dealers, placing them on the magnetic strip on my back. Armed and ready, I made my way downstairs, where Topaz was waiting. We walked outside, he locked the door, and we sauntered slowly over to the warehouse next door.

* * *

_Two Weeks Later_

"EXTERMINATE!" The synthesized voice of one of my favorite Doctor Who villains, the Dalek, was playing through the speakers of the mechs as they fired stun rounds into the block of concrete I was using for cover. While Topaz made some final touches on the mechs' programming, I asked him to give them a voice to use while in combat. At first I thought it was funny, but now it seemed… threatening.

I peeked over cover and fired my assault rifle in a burst, trying to maintain accuracy. A few of them landed, causing the mech's shields to collapse and push it backwards. I fired another burst that pierced its metal shell and sent it offline. Three more mechs, however, were closing in on my right flank, and I had no way of escaping without taking a few shots to my shield. So I charged an overload on my omnitool and prepared a lift with my reapotics. In a mixture of red waves and white electricity, two of the three mechs were incapacitated while I fired two bursts into the third. By the time the third was down, I only had to shoot one burst into the one hit with the overload. The last was just easy pickings, taking him out while he was stuck in midair.

My UI told me that there were only two more hostiles in the area, so I replaced my assault rifle with my shotgun. I began scanning with my radar, and the red blip from behind almost caught me off guard. I whirled around, but took a blow point blank to the chest with a mech armed with a shotgun, causing my shields to instantly go down until only a sliver of it remained. In panic, I activated my reapotics and projected all the energy I could at the mech. In a move that drained my entire Reapari energy levels, I charged it, also point blank, and shattered its shields and metal casing in a single blow.

I was still in shock, I almost didn't even notice the last hostile. Before it was too late, I turned around and found the last mech trying to sneak up behind me. With a quick shotgun blast to the chest, it was flung to the ground, as lifeless as when I was shooting at it in the range before the combat arena. I could hear clapping as I made sure every last mech was dead, and I turned to see Topaz joining me in the arena. "You've impressed me, Richard. I'm surprised, to be honest. It usually takes a biotic _years_ to learn how to charge. For me, it took about three months, since Reapari energy, or as you call it, reapotics, is much easier to manipulate."

"Reapotics sounds so much better, though. When you say, 'My Reapari energy bar is almost depleted,' it sounds like you're talking about like some kind of energy bar used for exercise. Reapotics sounds badass," I laughed, out of breath. You never know how much combat takes out of you until you finish. Adrenaline and all that.

"Whatever, the point is, you learned charge in two months, Richard. You fought through twenty five mechs alone and your shields haven't broken once. When I first got you, you were a kid who could barely lift his own body weight. Look at how much you've grown," Topaz pointed out, moving closer to me. "Which is why I think we're ready for mercenary work. Next week, we begin our hunt for Rook. Until then, keep on top of training, okay? And remember… all of these people, if we kill them, we _save lives_. They've put their life up for forfeit, we're just the ones who knock them off their pedestal."

"Topaz, I'm fine," I started, but he quickly stopped me.

"No, you aren't. You are an eighteen year old kid who has already taken a life. No one should have to go through that, and certainly not someone your age. So promise me that you will _never _be fine with this. You won't ever be okay with killing anyone, even Geth. You should know that the Geth are just as sentient as we are, and taking their life is just as important as taking a human or a turian life."

"You got it, Topaz."

"Also, all cool mercenaries have a calling name. There's Spade, who leaves an Ace of Spades at each of his jobs. There's the Joker from your universe, who I love by the way. I'm just saying, if you've got any ideas…"

"I've got a few…"

* * *

"Tango spotted, moving in for the takedown," I radioed in to Topaz, who was hidden in a building, providing sniper support. I carefully snuck behind the Batarian blocking the door, trying to be as quiet as possible as I reached for his neck. By the time he realized that something was wrong, I had already gotten a full grip on his chin and twisted it has hard as I could. Unable to react, he dropped to the floor lifelessly. Another life taken, and here I am, the one doing the reaping. I took out my omnitool blade and etched another tally into my armor. Two so far. I remember when Topaz first came to pick me up three months ago, he told me that death would become my closest companion. I didn't want to believe him, but the reality of it was hard to ignore. I was a killer, and what do killers do for a living? Shouldn't be too hard to guess.

We were approaching a warehouse, much like the one Topaz and I use, on the other end of the Kithoi Ward, closer to Terissia's apartment. She had begged me not to go through with this, but I had no choice. The last three months, I was trained for this very job: to kill those who try to stop me from ensuring the survival of this universe. I approached the front door, but found myself blocked by a turian and an asari. Man, Rook had a diverse crew… granted, had a turian working for him on the streets, so I shouldn't be surprised to see a compilation of several other races among them.

I summoned up all the strength I could muster and projected it at the asari. Topaz always told me to take them out first, considering the fact that a lot of them were skilled biotics. Standard military combat with a turian would be easy enough, but fighting someone who can wield biotics is substantially more difficult. I unleashed the energy and felt myself be flung at high speeds into the asari. Her shields broke, and she was knocked back into the wall behind her. Before she could recuperate and let her shields recharge, I fired a round into her chest using my shotgun. The turian began to react, albeit slowly and with recklessness. Before he could even touch me, I heard a small _pfft_, and he catapulted into the wall, a stain of dark blue flowing downwards into a growing pool on the floor.

_"I'm detecting several hostiles inside, but they don't seem aware that we're outside. Do you have the charges ready, Onyx? Because you're going to need to get in and get out really fast if this is to work,"_ Topaz told me through our encrypted comm channel.

"Roger that, Topaz, the charges are primed and ready for detonation, over." I open the doors quietly and manage to slip in unnoticed. Several machines are running, which masks the sound of my metal boots clanking on the floor. What I saw, however, completely appalled me.

This was a Red Sand plant, alright, but the workers certainly were not here of their free will. Some were chained to the machines and being watched by armed guards. Others, however, seemed to be here without restraints. I slipped up quietly to one of them to ask them some questions without getting the attention of the guards in the area. "I met my quota for the day, I swear!" the man exclaimed, raising his hands in defense.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, man, its cool! Rook sent me, he wants to do a performance examination on people. Production's been slacking a bit, and we've got to make some cuts to make room for more efficient employees. Psyche evaluations and all that," I explained, putting my gun on my back. "So, tell me, why are you here?"

"Why the hell do you think I'm here? The Sand, man!"

"You work here for the Red sand?" I asked in confusion.

"No! Rook and his asshole goons got us addicted to it! Now, if we try to run, we won't get sand and go into withdrawal! Probably die unless we get another hit within a few days or something! It doesn't help that the only Sand producer on the Citadel is Cobalt and Rook," he replied in haste. He obviously thought I was going to execute him on the spot or something, because he closed his eyes and braced for a blow that was never coming.

"Look, man, I'm going to let you in on a secret," I started, putting my hand on his shoulder. "This is going to be detrimental if you want to survive, got it?" He nodded quickly, leaning in closer. "Get as many people as you can and run. Just run. I'll handle the guards, just get the hell out of here, got it? Go to C-Sec, they'll get you some help. You have my word."

"Wha…what? Rook never sent you? You don't work for Cobalt?" he asked, looking at me with hopeful eyes. I patted his shoulder in confirmation and began making my way over to the closest guard. While I was sneaking through, several of the workers looked at me, pleading to be freed. They were in a sorry state, completely emaciated and wasted away. The first worked I had spoken too began rounding up as many people as he could without getting notice from the guards.

"Topaz, the workers here are being held here against their will. Cobalt got them addicted to Red Sand in order to keep them in his warehouse. My question is… how the hell did C-Sec miss a Red Sand factory as big as this? You can't really hide it…"

_"Cobalt has contacts in C-Sec who he probably pays off. If you can, gather some data on the terminal in the Overseer's office at the back before setting the charges. We can help C-Sec weed out some corruption. But it's not top priority, weakening Rook's powerbase is. If it's too dangerous, just arm the charges and get out of there. You're on your own, Onyx, I can't get any shots in there. Good luck."_

We entered radio silence as I used my omnitool blade to slit the throat of the first guard. Under the mask of the loud machines, the sound was almost nonexistent. With this area clear, I began cutting the chains on some of the bound workers and telling the plan to others. Unfortunately, the workers got too jumpy about leaving and tried to make a run for it. The guards instantly jumped to attention and prepared to fire, but I stopped them with a quick reapotic blast. It wasn't enough to do much other than push them back a little, but it drew fire from the fleeing innocents.

"Kill the human!" a Batarian growled, alerting the rest of the guards to my presence. The alarms turned on, and we began an extended firefight. It was one against twelve, so I've had better odds fighting LOKI mechs. The mechs weren't as intelligent, but they could be a bit surprising if you're not careful and allow yourself to get overwhelmed.

I switched my shotgun to my assault rifle, firing a spray of bullets that sent Cobalt's gang diving for cover. I picked out a few asari in their ranks, so before they could fire any biotics at me, I threw a few pulls at them. With three easy targets in the air, I sent bursts at them until they went limp while suspended. Now that the most possible threat was taken care of, I switched my focus to the other mercenaries as they tried to suppress me into cover. My shields took a few hits until I ducked back behind one of the machines.

"Step aside, weaklings, I'll show you how it's done," a deep, gruff voice said, piercing through the gunfire. I poked my head up and saw the largest figure that could only mean one thing. Krogan. The lumbering wall of flesh was coming closer and closer, his shotgun becoming more and more menacing as he drew nearer.

I vaulted over the machines and closed the distance between us. He fired a round of his shotgun, causing my shields to waver as the bullets impacted. Another shot like that, and I'd have to go back down to recharge. Luckily, I think it was the Claymore shotgun, because he immediately had to vent the heat. Taking advantage of the time between shots, I fired a burst of assault rifle fire to test his shields. Unlike the others that I was fighting, this guy had some grade-A shit. From what I could tell, I had barely dealt any damage to them. "Well… this is going to get interesting."

The other mercs had started cheering like a group of high school teenagers watching a fight go down. The krogan had a wide smirk on his face as he charged me, Claymore in tow. I dodged out of the way, but it was too late. He got a grip on my leg as I rolled to the right, and used his above-human strength to swing me into the machine next to him. Something cracked, although I'm not sure what, when I impacted the metal base. My assault rifle flew away from me, but I still had my shotgun. Pulling it from my back and fired several rounds towards the krogan. He laughed as they simply dissolved into his shield like nothing. "Is this all you offered up, human? I'm quite disappointed, I was hoping for a challenge."

I was thinking at a million miles an hour. What was a weakness for the krogan? They could regenerate, they had multiple organs that can take over in the event of failure, they must have something! Then I remembered… the head plate. THE HEAD PLATE!

I brought myself up from the prone position and attempted to stand before the approaching krogan. "Still got some fight in you, huh? I can change that." He raised his shotgun and put the barrel to my head, but before he could pull the trigger, I pushed it away with a reapotic field. I kicked myself away, gaining a little bit of distance between us, then got to a standing position. In a move that I had theorized would work but hadn't actually tested, I ran towards the surprised krogan (who muttered something about 'red biotics') and projected a wave of reapotics beneath me.

The force of the energy propelled me forward. I activated my omnitool blade as I flew through the air and latched on to the krogan's head. Before he could react, I found the crease between plates and lodged the omnitool blade into the crack. He could tell that I knew what I was doing, and began to panic and fling me around. Before I was thrown off, I pulled on the blade and pried the plate off. In a blood curdling road, the krogan fell to one knee and smashed his arms into the ground. I turned around and mounted his back, placing the blade on his throat. "Go on… human… kill me… You've bested me in combat…"

"And if I let you live?"

"Then I'll rip your throat out for disgracing myself and my clan."

"Thanks for being honest," I replied, sliding the blade along the entirety of the krogan's throat. As he fell onto the floor, blood spilling out in massive quantities, I turned to the rest of the mercenaries. "Guns down, hands up!" They complied, putting their hands above their heads and falling to their knees. "Topaz, I've got some live hostages. I need you to come in here to watch them while I scavenge whatever information I can from the database."

_"Rodger that, Onyx. Anything cause you major trouble?"_

"I'll let you see for yourself. He's all over the floor."

* * *

_Unknown Point of View_

I was watching the security feed as the lone mercenary began to ransack my warehouse, but I couldn't help but smile as I watched him take down one of my best krogan overseers using some kind of biotics I've never seen before. I watched the clip over and over, but it didn't make sense. As far as I knew, biotics couldn't change the color of their physical fields. No, I could tell. This was something else entirely.

The mercenary was way too fast for me to begin the wireless information wipe. The one in the black armor appeared to be some kind of amateur, making simple mistakes. Unfortunately, he had access to all of my contacts within C-Sec, locations for Red Sand production, and past shipping manifestos. All of Cobalt's trade routes were exposed and would be cracked down on. Cobalt, paranoid as he was, made sure that he was never directly mentioned. While the majority of his assets would be destroyed, he would live on. But I would pay the price.

"Gorak?"

"Yes, Rook?" the krogan bodyguard answered as he stood vigilant at his post.

"We've been compromised. Cobalt's assets have been uncovered, and things are about to heat up. Activate the YMIR, and get me my gun. We've got an infestation to exterminate."

* * *

"Topaz, where the hell are you?" I asked, growing impatient. He said he was on his way over, but for some reason, he had entered radio silence. It wasn't until I checked my radar that I realized that something was very, _very_ wrong.

_"Onyx, this is Topaz! I'm detecting a large amount of hostiles surrounding the warehouse! Get the hell out of there!"_

"Negative, I see them too. I can't get out, so I'm going to have the let them come to me. The small doorway should provide a funnel, and I'll pick them off in the choke point." Before Topaz could respond, the sound of hissing caused my heart to skip a beat. I looked at the door in fear and dove to the ground. The entire wall exploded in a shower of shrapnel and twisted metal, raining on my armor and scratching the paint job. "Well, shit."

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, I couldn't help but toss a Spade reference in there, it's what has inspired this small section of the story. Not that Thorne is going to become an assassin, but I just thought it'd be cool to do. Anyway, I love the clock idea, and I'll probably do it after every major time jump instead of every chapter. Depends, I'll see how I like it. Anyway, later!**


	5. Detective and Mercenary

The Effect of One  
Chapter Five Reboot

**A/N: Nothing to say here, so I'll get straight into it.**

* * *

_November 12th, 2175 Common Era. Kithoi Ward, Citadel. TUS: Approx. Eight Years_

At least twenty mercenaries came running in, but the sound of sirens in the distance told me that they had to get this job done fast. Behind them, though, came the sound of large metal gears driving a hulk of a machine. Noticing that no other mercenaries were carrying weapons powerful enough to blow a massive hole in the wall, the only obvious answer for what was following behind them was enough to actually make me feel _scared_. I mean, I was scared for this mission, and I was afraid to take a life, but this was the first time I actually thought that I could die.

The YMIR Mech opened the breach in the wall further, and the team of mercenaries converged on my position. It looked like they still didn't know exactly where I was, so I would have to use that to my advantage. The only thing I had, however, was the explosives Topaz gave me to bring down the warehouse. That would be more than enough to take out the YMIR, but I'd have to get out of here fast before the entire structure collapsed.

I heard gunfire outside, and the attention of the mercs turned to that as well. "We've got a sniper on the top floor of that building! Take him out!" Topaz, I thought. He was buying me some time until C-Sec showed up to even the playing field. A few of the mercs inside the warehouse backed out to take him out, leaving approximately fifteen left in here with me in addition to the mech. I can handle these odds, I thought as I fired a spray of bullets from behind cover. The mercs jumped into cover before the bullets hit them, but the mech continued to press forward. It charged its main cannon once again, so I tried to move locations before it could fire at me.

"There he is, get him!" one of the mercs shouted, popping out of cover to get a better shot. My shields began to flare wildly as the sustained fire of multiple mercenaries hit their mark. The mech fired its main cannon, hitting slightly to the right of me, causing my shields to break and toss me like a ragdoll from the sheer force of the impact. I landed behind one of the machines, but the top of it was almost completely torn off from the blast. I tried to stand back up, but a sharp pain shot through my lower leg and caused me to recoil in agony. Looking for the wound, I found a shard of metal that had breached the armor and lodged itself in my calf.

The medigel came in handy when treating the wound, and before I knew it, I was able to walk with only a dull throbbing signifying that something was wrong in the first place. I pulled the explosives out of my arsenal and looked them over. They originally had a five minute timer on them, but I knew that I was going to have to make it a lot shorter before someone disarms it. I prepared the sticky patch on the back of it and checked my Reapari energy levels. Thankfully, they had fully recharged since my bout with the krogan warlord. I created a plan where I would charge the mech, passing all of the mercs in the process, and stick the explosives to the back or underside with a thirty second timer. Then, I'd maneuver my way around the mech and make a run to the door before the mercs realize what's going on. With a little luck, the main cannon won't be charged until I'd be long gone.

I changed the time settings on the explosives and gathered up as much energy as I could. This was a long distance to travel, and I wasn't sure if I'd be able to cover it. Swallowing my fear, the power was activated. In a wave of intense red reapotics, I was flung across the room and directly at the machine lumbering on the other side of the warehouse. The impact stunned the mech, allowing me to run behind it and plant the charges and prime them. The countdown began.

I was sprinting out of the warehouse as fast as I could, allowing my shields to flare as the mercs shot at me. They thought I was running, so they attempted to pursue me, causing them to be even closer to the huge charge pack that was ticking away on their mech. Now, I don't know what kind of explosives Topaz uses, but he said they were called C9 Tremors. C4 was a pretty decent sized explosive if my memory served correctly, so if an explosive earns the name 'Tremor,' then you know that this thing was going to be massive. I almost wanted to stop in the line of fire just to watch the fireworks.

Unfortunately, I was going to get to do just that. Ten seconds had passed until the sustained fire had broken my shields and a bullet went straight into my shoulder. The force sent me sprawling in front of a sinister figure, which kneeled in front of me. "You're in my warehouse, taking my data. What the fuck did I ever do to you?"

"Rook," I spat, looking up at him. The human merely scoffed in return, so I continued. "You enslaved innocents in that God forsaken place. Now you're going to get to watch it burn."

"What the hell are you talking about?" he asked, aiming what looked like a gold plated pistol at the base of my forehead. I simply stared back as the counter in my head reached its end. "I said _what the hell are you talking about?!_"

"Boom." In a flash of brilliant white light, the C9 exploded from underneath the mech, the blast wave consuming the running mercs who still had no idea what was going on. I felt the heat wash over me, even through my helmet, and the force of the blast me around much like the mech's cannon. This time, however, I was catapulted a huge distance that gave me a sickening feeling of freefalling. With a sickening crack, I landed in a heap of concrete and debris, watching as a platoon of C-Sec sky-cars flew overhead, evaluating the wreckage.

* * *

I just lay there until I heard the shifting of rocks. I didn't even have to open my eyes to know it wasn't Topaz, considering he was well out of the blast radius and wouldn't be clawing his way out of rubble. I rolled to the side, an extremely sharp pain shooting through my arm as a result of the gunshot wound I had earlier. My helmet was damaged from the explosion, so I ripped it off to allow me to breathe unhindered. I looked to my right to see Rook clawing his way out of the rubble, but something was off about him. He was pissed, sure, but not even adrenaline could give you enough power to go for an outright attack like that.

Rook lunged for me like a wild animal, bearing his teeth and hissing in anger. He began clawing at my armor, and by the time he got one of my shoulder plates off, I mustered enough strength to fling him off with reapotics. It wasn't a strong attack, but it was powerful enough to disorient him for a second. I pulled myself up and attempted to stumble away, but he was too fast. I felt a hand reach for my foot and grip tightly. In a swift motion, I felt the world (or rather, space station) rush up to meet me.

Without my helmet, I met the ground with a thud, becoming so disoriented that I couldn't tell which way was up. Rook grabbed my wounded shoulder and tugged it sharply, causing me to shriek out in pain as I flipped over onto my back. He jumped onto my chest and again began to claw off my armor. I uselessly tried to push him off, frantically thinking, _where the hell was Topaz?_ I heard the click of a pistol and thought that he had answered my calls. Rook looked up like a rabid animal to see the barrel pointed directly in his face. With a loud shot, Rook fell limp, his face mangled into a pulp as the bullet completely ignored his shields at the close range it was at. "Get tangled up with the wrong crowd, kid?"

"Unfortunately for him, I think I got tangled up with the right one," I replied, wincing as the flanging voice pulled out a tube of medigel and applied it to my shoulder. I was resting my eyes, but I could tell that the voice belonged to the one and only Garrus Vakarian.

"For all we know, you could've been one of the hired mercenaries guarding this facility," he replied sharply, finishing the coating of medicine. "Fortunately for you, I remember your face from a week or so ago. You're that kid who shot one of Cobalt's lackeys on the street. So that leaves only one thing you could be."

"And what might that be?"

"You blew up the factory, didn't you?" he asked bluntly. I nodded slowly. "Figures. Kid, I'm going to let you go this once, _this once_, you hear? Get out while you can, because while I personally have a soft spot for vigilantes, I've seen far too many of them dead because they were in way over their heads."

"You won't have to worry about that, Detective Vakarian," a familiar voice from behind Garrus answered. The turian whirled around and aimed his pistol at the human, who put his hands up but didn't stop his approach. "He's got a guardian angel. I'll handle it from here."

"And who the hell are you?"

"My name's Topaz, but please. My friends call me Topaz," my favorite mercenary joked, helping me to my feet. "I'll be getting the kid out of here and to a safe location, don't worry. Now you go be a good little cop and clean up this mess, mkay?"

"If I see you guys doing vigilante work again, I'm going to have to bring you in, you know that, right?" Garrus told us.

"We just won't have to get caught again, I guess. Oh, that reminds me." Topaz took off my omnitool, which was still relatively intact, and began downloading the data I had gathered before the mercenaries showed up. "Here are all of Cobalt's shipping routes, plant locations, and more importantly, C-Sec contacts. I forwarded them to your omnitool. Unfortunately, there isn't any evidence linking it to the paranoid bastard, but we can figure that out another day."

"You… you just sped up week's worth of investigations… imagine the paperwork I was going to have to do," he laughed. "I'll get this to the Executor right away, and we'll launch an assault on the locations." While we were talking, several of the C-Sec sky-cars I saw flying overhead had begun to land, unloading several units of troops. We were hidden behind some of the wreckage, so we remained unseen.

"Well, looks like time's running out, turian. Give Palin my best, and don't give him too hard of a time, you hear? I'm going to get this little asshole cleaned up, it's been one hell of a day. I hope I never see you around. For your sake, not mine."

"And I would say keep up the good work, but then I'm pretty sure I'd get thrown out by C-Sec Internal Affairs for assisting vigilantes. So… don't get him killed, alright? He seems like a good kid."

"Yeah, he is. I'm pretty sure he's about to pass out, so I'll get moving." And Topaz was right, I was starting to feel my eyelids begin to droop. Before I knew what was happening in order to stop it, consciousness was swept out right from under my feet.

* * *

_ "This is the Citadel News Network, bring you the truth and nothing but the truth! Earlier today, a firefight broke out in a factory in the Kithoi Ward. Two armed personnel, who have been identified as vigilantes under the names of Topaz and Onyx, assaulted the factory with the intention of stopping the apparent red sand production line that was in the building._

_ "Victims of the gang, which was run in the area by a human by the name of Warren Fox, under the alias of 'Rook', had become addicted to the red sand and forced to work the production line in exchange for continued supply of the drug. C-Sec Rehabilitation Teams are hard at work trying to break their addiction as we speak. Rook was killed during the firefight between C-Sec forces and the remaining mercenaries who survived the blast._

_ "I'm also getting word that the two mercenaries secured intelligence vital to the apprehension of several other red sand factories scattered throughout the Citadel. C-Sec forces have begun investigation of the identified areas, which has proven to be accurate. It is rumored that big time industrialist Toni Markham of Cobalt Industries was involved in the recent events, but when we asked him for an interview, he declined. Also, it turns out that this 'Rook' character had several contacts within C-Sec itself. Internal Affairs was already cracking down on regulations, but with specific names, those responsible will be apprehended shortly._

_ "As for the two mercenaries who led this exciting drug bust, they seemed to have disappeared. No one knows of their whereabouts, but C-Sec has begun investigation into possible leads. Executor Palin has an opinion on the actions of these mysterious soldiers._

_ "'We appreciate the 'help' these two men have given for us, but C-Sec is perfectly capable of protecting its citizens. Normally, we would apprehend vigilantes such as these, but the intelligence they sent to us anonymously has been accurate and will save many lives in the coming days. If you reveal yourselves, you will receive a pardon. If you want to save lives, submit an application like everyone else.'"_

_ "Thank you, Executor Palin, for commenting on this for us. Over the course of the next few days, C-Sec will be arresting individuals for these crimes. We encourage you to stay in doors for your own safety, and only answer the door for official C-Sec officers. _

_ "In other news, the Alliance has begun colonization of a uranium rich planet known as Vivacta. Controversy over the use of the mineral is filling up the Council debate streams…"_

* * *

_Three Months Later_

_February 10th, 2176 Common Era. Kithoi Ward, Citadel. TUS: Approx. Seven Years_

I had just finished etching the final tallies into my armor when Topaz walked into the room. The total was up to thirty six now, after the warehouse job. Carving the etches took me a long time, considering it took me awhile to get the emotional strength count how many people I've killed. I felt hollow inside, just knowing that I had actually ended the lives of thirty six living, breathing people. We've been taking it easy, since I'd suffered extensive injuries. Internal bleeding from the explosion as well as broken bones from being tossed around like a ragdoll had me bedridden for two weeks. Topaz did, however, commend me on my fight with the krogan and my exceptional use of the reapotics. The extensive use of them during that mission had made me almost twice as strong, but I was beginning to see glowing red veins appear on my right wrist.

"How ya holding up, kid?" he asked, patting me on the head. I swatted his hand back in annoyance and placed the armored bracer back into the armor case. My helmet was badly damaged, but Topaz managed to fix me up a new one. It was the same model and color, nothing new or interesting. "You know what's coming up, right?"

"Hmm?"

"You turn nineteen tomorrow, kid. Don't tell me you forgot your own birthday, now? Six months into your new life here, and you already forget that you had one before all of this. Amazing. So, tomorrow, you and I are going to go for some drinks!"

"But I'm not twenty-one. I thought that the Citadel drinking age was the same as Earth. Besides, I'm never had alcohol before, so I wouldn't even know where to start," I told him.

"The age here is eighteen, my friend! Good thing you're going with me, because then you'll get to have the good stuff!" he exclaimed, waving his hands for effect. "No, none of that watered-down asari crap that fills the shelves. Nothing beats a salarian drink, I'll tell you! A race who can't get drunk because of their metabolism sure as hell will try to scientifically push the boundaries. A Salarian Acid Borer will burn straight through your kidney!"

While he was going on a rant, I was surfing the web until I caught eye on an article: Top Ten Destinations of the Galaxy! I was just scrolling down the list when number four caught my eye. 'Elysium, the retirement planet for weary soldiers! This human colony is one of the most bountiful in Alliance Space, bested only by Eden Prime!'

"Topaz!" I shouted, interrupting his spiel. "I've got our next destination."

"Shouldn't we, you know, take down Cobalt? Like we've started?"

"No, this is much bigger! God, why didn't I think of this before! Topaz, the year is 2176! Tell me, what major event happens in the year 2176?" He stood there, thinking for a second while I watched him. Finally, he made the connection.

"Ah. You, kid, are a genius! This'll get you a spot in Shepard's crew, no questions asked! Pack your bags, because we're going to Elysium!"

"I'll have to survive the Skyllian Blitz first if I want to do that," I mutter, taking another gander at the marks on my bracer. Thirty Six. How many more until I actually begin to do some good? How much is it going to take until the universe is 'saved?' And now I was jumping on board to one of the most pivotal events in recent history, attempting to save humans from Batarian slavery. Not to save humans from Batarian slavery, though, but instead to secure a spot on a _ship_.

I remembered what the Illusive Man said in our conversation near the beginning of this whole thing. _"In the next few years, you will experience many things that will change you as a person. Do not let them. The reason why we have brought you here is because of who you are and what you do. If that changes, then we'll all pay the price."_

I fear that I have already failed.

* * *

**A/N: I think you all know where I'm going with this, eh? Richard Thorne and Commander Shepard, duking it out with a bunch of Batarian Slavers on Elysium! Unless... what if Shepard isn't a War Hero... but you'll just have to read to find out which, right? Mwahahahaha!**


	6. Can't Back Out Now

The Effect of One  
Chapter Six Reboot

**A/N: Hey guys, tons of revelations this chapter! Also, it's the beginning of the Elysium Story Arc! I expect this'll take three chapters, minimum, but it may stretch on to more, depending on how it turns out! So, without further procrastination, here's Six! **

**EDIT: I actually wanted to note that Richard is _not_ my real name (you can probably see it on my profile) but I'm using it as an alias for myself. It _is_ still a Self Insert, and Richard is still me. Same personality, same reactions, same morals, same sense of humor, everything. I just changed the name for the sake easing my readers into this new story as a result of my previous attempt of a Self Insert.**

* * *

_February 10th, 2176 Common Era. SSV Agincourt. TUS: Approx. Seven Years_

We were making our way through the Citadel Spaceport when I realized what the hell we were getting ourselves into. Elysium, number four in the top ten list for most desirable spots in the galaxy for vacationing, was going to be attacked by the Batarian Hegemony in a few months, days, or even hours. We had no idea when they were going to attack, considering the game offered no real date of when the invasion began. We didn't even know if Shepard was going to be there or not, considering there were multiple different paths you could select when creating your character. And if she wasn't there… would I end up being the War Hero, taking the title as my own where Shepard should have?

All of these thoughts were coursing through my head as we boarded the shuttle. After pulling a few strings, Topaz had secured transport from an Alliance ship that would take us to Elysium, since they were dropping off some extra supplies to establish some GARDIAN ground to air laser defense systems. They were estimated to be finished in around mid-2177 (the irony was not lost upon me nor Topaz), and would be able to protect the colony world from an orbital attack. The officer who had allowed us on board was none other than Navigator Pressly, although he wasn't Navigator yet. How he owed Topaz a favor was beyond me, but it might make a good story someday.

All of a sudden, events started to line up. I mean, think about it. Here we were, serving about the _SSV Agincourt_ on our way to Elysium. From what I can recall, Pressly would often talk about Shepard and how she was the War Hero of the Skyllian Blitz (if you chose that option), so that means that it can't be far off now. Pressly said they would be stationed at Elysium for about a week before they had to leave. Since they were one of the first to provide back up during the Blitz, I assume that shit will hit the fan a little after they leave.

The _Agincourt _was under the command of Captain Bowman, who seemed like a nice enough fellow. He acted a bit strange when we first came aboard and excused himself, but returned as if nothing was wrong. I wasn't sure what that meant, but I didn't think much of it. Topaz and I mostly kept to ourselves on board, considering they all thought of us as stowaways or hitchhikers. To be honest, I didn't care much. There would be enough time to interact with a crew during my times on the _Normandy_. I asked Topaz what he would be doing when I got aboard (even though that was still seven years away) and he simply replied, "Blackhand." I had no idea what that meant, and when I tried to push him about it, he refused to say anything more. Cryptic bastard.

The trip from the Citadel to Elysium wasn't going to take long, ten to twelve hours max. I wasn't really in a rush considering we were hitching a ride to our potential deaths, you know? I think standard space travel freaked Topaz out, because he seemed really jumpy. I personally couldn't wait, considering the entirety of my time here was spent on the Citadel. It wasn't until we had already left the docks that I realized for the first time in my life, I was in space. The final frontier. Man, it was hard to believe, even though I've been here for a good five months already. I'm in SPPPAAAACCCEEEE!

* * *

It was three hours into the ride to Elysium when I got bored. The Mass Relay was pretty cool and stuff, but to be honest, the view wasn't that great from where I was. Captain Bowman refused to let 'someone such as me' into the cockpit of the ship (I wasn't sure if I should have been offended), so I was restricted to the portside windows. While looking through, I saw the lower portion of the big mass effect orb thing and thought… what would happen if it used Reapari energy instead of mass effect? I'm not sure I even want to know…

I couldn't even feel the jump between relays. I thought it would be something sick that would shake the entire ship, but apparently we have 'stabilizers.' No fun, I say. Topaz was getting a bit stir-crazy, so he went to the mess hall to get some grub. Not sure what his problem is, but I decided not to pursue it after that whole 'Blackhand' cryptic bullshit he gave me.

The Galactic Map had consumed a large portion of my time as I just went from planet to planet, marking which locations I would most likely end up at throughout my adventures with Shepard. So far, it had been only about five months or so since my arrival, and it had flown by like crazy. Seven years remained until the events of Eden Prime, and I had that much time to perfect my skills and become one of the most deadly mercenaries in the galaxy in order to secure a spot on Shepard's team. I thought about joining the Alliance and working my way up in the chain of command, as seven years was perfectly long enough to reach a decent rank. But then I'd get deployed to hell knows where, and all of a sudden the plan becomes extremely unpredictable. With this plan, I knew exactly where I was going to be when the time came.

I've tried to talk to some of the crew a few times, but I think they view me as some kind of degenerate or something. Come to think of it, most of the crew has tried to ignore me. When walking to the elevator to reach the Mess Hall and join Topaz in the buffet, several people went out of their way to move to the other side of the room. Huh. Well, I put it to the back of my mind and opened the elevator. Inside was Pressly, who appeared a bit stunned when I joined him in the elevator. "Pressly."

"Richard. So… how do you know Topaz? He isn't the kind of guy people tend to get mixed up with, and the people who have… well, all you have to do is watch the news to see what happens then," Pressly asked me as the slow and unbearable elevator ride began.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it doesn't take an idiot to figure out that the Topaz that participated in the attack on the Red Sand facility on the Citadel is the same one that's eating all of our stocks right now. That just leaves one question, though. What happened to his accomplice, Onyx?"

"Good question, I'll have to ask Topaz about that. Probably a good story behind it. Also, if everyone knows that Topaz is… well, Topaz, then why don't you apprehend him?" I returned while simultaneously begging for this agonizingly slow elevator ride to end.

"Topaz and the Alliance have a deal of sorts. On occasion, we hire Topaz to carry out operations that the Alliance can't normally perform due to… diplomatic barriers. In exchange, we help him evade the police and give him lifts from time to time. It's a beneficial relationship," he explained.

"So for performing black ops for the Alliance, you pay him back with secrecy and a taxi service?" I asked, to which Pressly nodded. "Remind me to tell Topaz that I'll be doing the bartering from now on, because that deal sucks ass." After an eternity of waiting, the elevator doors slide open with a ding, and we both get out of there as quickly as we can. Before Pressly leaves, though, I decide to ask him about the crew and why they're giving me weird looks.

"You mean you don't know?" Having not a single clue about what he was trying to say, I shook my head. "You've got these… scars running down the side of your neck. They… pulse red." Oh… well, shit. I thanked him and tried to keep myself from panicking, but I'm sure a bit of worry escaped when I rushed down the hall to the starboard bathrooms.

I kicked open the door and ran up to one of the many mirrors, pulling down my shirt to get a better look. The small circular scar where I got shot during the warehouse raid was still there, and long strands of red veins were originating from it up through my neck. With my shirt on, you could only see the tips of them, but occasionally, they would pulse a faint red. Quickly activating my omnitool, I sent a message for Topaz to meet me here.

* * *

"TOPAZ!" I shouted when he entered the bathroom casually. I had sent the message a quarter of an hour ago, and he sure as hell took his sweet time getting here. He still had a plate of Alliance spaghetti in his right hand as he opened the bathroom door with his left.

"What is it, kid? It can't be that important to interrupt my… oh. When the hell did those get there?" he asked, setting his pasta down and walking behind me while I continued staring at the veins in the mirror. "Oh! Kid, don't worry about these. They first started popping up about three months after I started my training. Basically, the reapari energy suffered a huge buildup during the warehouse op, and now the power is being redistributed throughout the system since its being normalized. It'll disappear in, oh… I'd say a day, maybe two. Nothing permanent."

My breathing slowed down and I was able to clear my head. Man, I didn't know I would freak out that much over these things. Why did I? Maybe I just didn't want myself to change that much, although that was too late. The thirty six marks on my armor was a clear indication of that. But if it wasn't that, what was it? I put the thought on the backburner and turned back to Topaz, who was already digging back into his spaghetti. "Is it possible to… get rid of the scars? Not these ones, I mean the ones that you've got."

"Probably, I just haven't looked into it. When I left, reapari development was very experimental. We haven't a clue on what the long term effects are. But I'm sure the scars will be removable eventually. Why?"

Why indeed. I had to come up with an answer, or I'd just succeed in driving myself insane. After deliberating for a few seconds, something clicked. I think I had it. "I want to be able to return home."

"Kid…"

"No! I want to be able to go back to my normal life once this is all over. I'm here to save the universe, nothing more. If I survive all of this, I want to be able to go back to my universe and live out the rest of my days as a normal human being! I don't belong here, you know it! Here, I'm an anomaly, a tool to be used by forces greater than we can comprehend to make sure that things go the way they want them to go. But, after that… what am I then? What will I do once this is all over?"

"Well, I knew this was coming… Come on, Richard, the bathroom is no place to talk about this. Follow me." A bit apprehensively, I followed.

* * *

We sat down in the furthermost corner of the mess hall, where no one would be within earshot. I took my seat, and Topaz did the same across from me. "What I am about to tell you won't be easy. For you or for me." He shifted uncomfortably as he pulled some sort of device out of an unknown pocket. "This is the Reapari Matrix that brought you here. It runs off of reapari energy, much like our reapotics, as you call them. The thing is… it runs off of the reapari from my universe, not this one."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? We can use the reapari of this universe, but that machine can't?" I asked, trying desperately to keep my voice down as I did so.

"We're organic. We can adapt, and the nodes will find a new way to use the reapari energy. Machines don't adapt, they don't evolve like we do. This machine has a specific code that can only read the reapari energy from the other universe. That's why I had to use the reapari energy cells, as they contained reapari from my original universe, and that allowed the matrix to operate."

"Yeah, but eventually we'll discover reapari and build our own matrix that can run off of the energy here… right?"

"We discovered reapari by accident in my universe. Perhaps we will do so again here, but it is unlikely. Because of your presence here, the future has already changed, and I cannot tell what'll happen. We discovered it during a time of desperation, where we had no idea if the next day, the Reapers would show up and annihilate us. But with you here… that'll never happen, because you stop the Reapers. Maybe, one day, we will discover a Reapari Matrix… but you have to live with the possibility that you'll never return home again." We remained silent for a few seconds until the gravity of what he was telling me finally took its toll.

"You… you _lied _to me!" I shouted, grabbing the attention of multiple marines in the vicinity who were sitting down for a nice cup of coffee. "You said that you would be able to take me home!"

"Richard… I know. I've betrayed your trust, and I deserve everything that I'm about to get. So, come on… let it all out." He stared at me as the rage of his deceit began to build up in me. "You've obviously got a lot to say, so just let it out."

I was about to say something, but my vision began to blot out in spots of red. Topaz looked over to my right, probably noticing the red light flaring out of the veins on my shoulder. In a quick move that caught Topaz off guard, I flipped the table in between us and used reapotics to launch him and the table into the wall. The marines nearby instantly jumped up, but Topaz shouted at them to stay where they were.

"DO NOT INTERFERE! I'VE GOT THIS UNDER CON-" before he could finish, I charged him with a reapari barrier descended over me. He was catapulted into the kitchen, where the cook yelped in surprise as he landed in his soup. "-trol… Argh, probably deserved that."

I jumped over the tables that were tipped over and put a pull on Topaz, bringing him closer to me. "YOU LIED TO ME!" I threw a reapotically powered fist at him, and he flew back into the kitchen. The marines this time refused to just stand idly and jumped into action, pulling their sidearms out and aiming them at me.

"NO! Just let him calm down! He's enraged; he'll do more harm if you try to incapacitate him!" The two marines ignored Topaz and a round at me, but the bullet dissipated into my barrier. I turned to them and was about to fire a wave of reapotics at them, but a hand caught me just before I released it. I snarled as I turned back at Topaz, who had prevented me from attacking those who had shot at me. "Richard… I'm sorry. Marines, return to your conversation. I'll handle this." I felt my power leave me as I surveyed the room; chairs and tables were toppled over, the kitchen was in a dreadful state, and Topaz had a black eye from when I reapotically punched him.

What the fuck have I done?

* * *

I personally escorted myself to the brig at the request of Captain Bowman, who was currently in a heated discussion with Topaz over what had transpired. Topaz refused to tell him what it was about, claiming he had the right to do that under the deal he had struck with the Alliance. Bowman was furious, but Topaz stood his ground. The two marines were giving their accounts on what happened as I was put under 'Military Arrest' for assaulting Topaz and destruction of Alliance property.

While in the brig, I was given time to think, which I think I needed now more than ever. I had to face the possibility that I would never return home. That I would never see my friends or family again. My entire life from before five months ago was potentially gone. And that… that hit home real hard. Harder than I thought it would. And… to think that my final good bye was telling Taylor that I was going on a trip! Sure, he was a good friend that I had known since the beginning of middle school, but was that any way to go out? Granted, then I knew that I possibly wouldn't come back, but that was because of the looming threat of death. This time… even if I survive, I won't be able to go home. And how could I forgive Topaz for doing that to me?

I sat in the brig for maybe five more hours, catching a few z's. I was awoken by the sound of the intercom announcing our arrival at Elysium. I sat up, but instantly regretted it. The fight earlier had taken a lot out of me, and my limbs felt sore. One of the marines from the incident came to unlock the door and let me out. He apologized for earlier, which made me feel like crap, because I was getting ready to beat his ass into dust just for doing his job. After much discussion about who was at fault, we walked out to see Topaz flanked by two more marines. "Bowman wanted a precaution. I told him it was unnecessary, but he… _insisted_."

"Get the fuck out of my way Topaz." Not wanting to deal with his shit, I pushed passed him and got into the elevator that led up to CIC. When I got there, Captain Bowman and Pressly were there to see me out. I wasn't in any legal trouble, as Topaz paid for the damages, but they made it very clear that I wasn't welcome on this ship ever again. I gladly left the _SSV Agincourt _and met the fresh breeze of an alien world. My first planet outside of Earth (Citadel doesn't count). And it was going to be blown up in a matter of days. Hurray! Vacation time!

I heard one of the marines from the _Agincourt_ mention we were in New Athens, which was the military hub of Elysium, and most of the city was based on Greek culture. I left Topaz a message that I sent from my omnitool that I was going to be gone for a couple of hours to cool down, and that I'll meet him back in front of the ship then. So I took off into the city and began exploring.

The first thing I noticed was that there were very few Alliance soldiers that I could spot on the planet. I guess this is why the Skyllian Blitz is so devastating, but still. With such a militarized government and admirals jumping the gun all the time in game, I was surprised that there wasn't a squad on every street corner. I always thought that Alliance colonies would be very well guarded, but I guess that's why Elysium and Eden Prime are such big massacres. You'd think that we would've learned by now…

My first stop was at the New Athens History of Human War Museum. I walked in, wondering what I'd find on the inside. The first thing that caught my eye was a freaking tank. It had to be World War Two era, considering it was covered in at least forty layers of dust. It was quite comical to see the handprints of those who disobeyed the signs that said 'Don't Touch.' As I went down to the back, I saw human warfare evolve from spears and clubs to tanks and aircraft. Then, in 2148, we saw a huge jump in technology from the discovery of the Prothean ruins on Mars. Near the end of the hallway was an armory of weapons that were most likely unloaded and disabled. One thing caught my eye, though. A sword that resembled that of the samurai era was among these weapons, but lacked recognition. I found a guide and pulled her aside to ask that question.

"Oh, that? That is top of the line technology used in close range combat. It's still relatively new technology, but has proven to be very successful. It's called a Monomolecular Blade, and is primarily used by N7 Vanguards," the guide explained in that annoyingly cheerful voice that they're required to have at all times.

"Thanks," I replied, still staring at the work of art. A Monomolecular Blade, huh? I'm pretty sure that's what Kai Leng used/uses. I'd like to get my hands on one of them, that'd be sick as hell. Although, the idea of slicing up human beings doesn't sound too thrilling… I decide to put those thoughts out of my head and continue through the museum, going to several other exhibits that explained pre-FTL combat methods.

* * *

_One Week Later_

___February 17th, 2176 Common Era. Kithoi Ward, Citadel. TUS: Approx. Seven Years_

Richard-Topaz Relations began to improve, but very slowly. I could tolerate his presence, but interaction between us was rare beyond the simple, "Pass the ketchup," and "Okay." We booked a room at the Spartan's Retreat, which was a hotel reserved for Alliance forces or mercenaries on jobs. Basically, the place was a booze house and only catered to people who were armed, which in our case, was us. I had begun searching the extranet for whereabouts of Commander Shepard (or whatever her rank currently was), but wasn't able to find anything. I asked some of the other regiments, who said that they've heard of her, but weren't sure if she was on shore leave here or not. But if she was here, she would be in New Athens, because that's where the most military personnel flock to on Elysium.

The attack was coming, I just knew. The _Agincourt_ had left a few hours ago, which means it could happen any minute. It was weird having this foreknowledge and having to wait for the inevitable future of Batarian foot soldiers rappelling down and taking slaves. Topaz advised that I take my armor and my weapons with me when I left, and I complied, since I knew that today had to be the day. Soon, the _Agincourt_ would be too far to be the first on the scene, and that was a part of canon. I tried my best to prepare the soldiers in Spartan's Retreat, but they were too busy focusing on the beer and women to heed my warnings. So, as I walked down the street with weapons in hand, I noticed that I was the only one out here and keeping my eyes directed at the sky.

I wandered aimlessly, really. Somehow, I ended back up where I first went after arriving in New Athens: the History of Human War Museum. I smiled as I remembered that there was an entire arsenal in there, just waiting to be activated.

Looking once again towards the sky, the first scream of the day filled my ears as a ship descended over New Athens that clearly wasn't human. Scratch that, several ships. "Game on, Batarians," I whispered to myself. "Alright, everyone, GET INSIDE THE MUSEUM, NOW!" The soldiers who were on leave jumped into action, coordinating panicking civilians into safe structures. A squad of them led a large amount of civilians into the museum like I suggested, and once the streets were clear, I closed the doors and locked them.

I made a beeline for the weapons at the end of the hallway. Using the butt of my shotgun, the glass smashed easily under my brute strength. I held the Monomolecular Blade in my hands with a guilty giddiness, and put it on the magnetic holding rail on the back of my armor. While I was cataloging the amount of guns we had, I sent a message to Topaz that I was in the museum. He told me to stay there until he located Shepard, if she was here at all. "We've got several weapons here, but they've been disabled and don't have any ammo blocks. You, what's your name?" I asked, pointing at one of the soldiers.

"Private Jenson," he answered, albeit it apprehensively.

"Go check the storerooms, see if they have any ammo we can hook up to these things. If you can't find any, ask some of the employees, maybe they'll have an idea of what we can do. Now, we need an engineer to get these things operational. Anyone?"

"I can do it. Engineer Brandon, at your service. I'll see what I can do, but all of my gear is back at the Retreat. We weren't prepared for this. Do we even know what we're fighting?"

"Batarians, I'd wager. Mercenaries, not Hegemony. I appreciate the effort, try to do what you can. Everyone else, use what you can to fortify the doors. We don't want anything getting in here unless it's human or full of bullets, got it?"

"Hold on, hold on! These are my men, who the hell do you think you are ordering them around?" a woman clad in armor (the only one other than me, I might add) with her face masked by a helmet.

"You can call me Onyx. Do you have anything to add, Miss…?"

"Lieutenant Amelia Shepard." My jaw dropped slightly, and I became slightly embarrassed that I talked to her in that manner, but I quickly composed myself. "And yeah, I do. While we're in here, the Batarians are out there taking humans as slaves! We need to be out there, not cooped up in here while we wait for this to blow over!"

"Well, Lieutenant, you do have a valid point. But the initial wave is intended to take out military personnel while the next wave will be to secure civilians for transport. So, if we hold out this wave, we can take on the lesser-armed troops that'll be taking the people. Make sense?"

"Yeah, good thinking. Alright, men, do as he says. But, from now on, you take orders from me _alone_, got it?" A murmur of 'hoorah's' filled the air. "Good. Onyx, with me. You obviously know what you're doing, so we need to discuss our next course of action."

I almost didn't hear her as she walked into the next room, where all the civilians were waiting for someone to explain what the hell was going on. I was in a bit of shock. This was _the _Commander Shepard, the one who was going to save the entire God damn Galaxy from the Reapers (albeit not _Commander_ yet). All of a sudden, I was looking forward to the Skyllian Blitz. Time to show my stuff.

* * *

**A/N: And there's Shepard! Whew, that chapter was tough to write. At least the part of Richard fighting (I say fighting, but I really mean owning) Topaz for dropping that bomb. So, will Richard ever see his home again? Will he even survive the Skyllian Blitz? And how will his presence change the course of the Batarian Raid? Stay tuned to find out!**

**EDIT: Well, I fixed the issue about Shepard's rank. Thanks, ElDani, for pointing it out and giving me enough information to work where as a simple search on the wiki failed me and provided me with one hell of a plot hole. In this instance, Shepard is intended to be a Lieutenant JG under the grounds of becoming an Ensign on joining the Alliance Navy at age nineteen and working through Lieutenant Junior Grade over the course of two years. She is currently working on Lieutenant (which some sources are telling me take two years and four years total service? Not sure if that's right, but I'm going with it). **


	7. Thorne in their Side

The Effect of One  
Chapter Seven Reboot

**A/N: Well, with that whole Commander Shepard vs Lieutenant Shepard rank shenanigans figured out, I was able to go through Chapter Seven and make the necessary adjustments! So here's seven!**

* * *

___February 17th, 2176 Common Era. New Athens, Elysium, Vetnus System. TUS: Approx. Seven Year_

"Hold the door, don't let them get in!" Shepard shouted from behind the tank we shifted for cover. We managed to board up the door, but that's not going to do much against a unit of Batarian raiders, so we put the civilians in back and beefed up the front. The banging on the front door grew louder and louder by the second. "Onyx, you got any grenades?"

"Budgeting was a bit low this season, so all I've got is this!" Shepard turned to look at me wielding an old (modern by my standards) grenade launcher, and a smile crept across her face. I loaded it and prepared it to fire by pumping the gauge. "It's good to go! Just give me the mark, and I'll blast them to hell!"

"That thing isn't even going to break their shields, it'll just piss them off!" she replied, maintaining her position behind the tank. "What do you expect to do with that?"

"I didn't just have your soldiers move the old military jeep up to the door because it looked cool! The bullets in the turret will be useless, but the gas in the tank is still good! I'll get it to ignite, and then we've got fireworks early this year!" I replied, getting used to the sights on this thing. Man, I've never seen one of these outside of a video game, but holy hell, these things were tough to aim. Luckily, I didn't really _have_ to aim in order to hit the huge target in front of me.

"That'll blow an even bigger hole into the side of the museum, though! I thought you wanted to defend this position, not help the Batarians with their demolition job!"

"It'll still be a small enough chokehold! As long as we time our weapon venting, we should be able to hold against whatever they throw at us! Plus, Private Jenson is giving the civvies some weapons training! They can provide suppressing fire in case we've got to vent prematurely!" I told her.

Shepard sighed. I was thinking she was a bit of a renegade after she grinned when I pulled out the grenade launcher, but it turns out putting innocents in the line of fire was too much. "I'd rather let the Batarians gain a little bit of territory than let civilians go into combat. No innocents will be put on the line today, Onyx."

"Merely a suggestion, Lieutenant. Look! They're about to get the door open! Everyone, combat positions! I want every single one of these bastards peppered with bullets when the dust clears, got it?" Before anyone could confirm, the door was blown off its hinges, and a team of Batarian mercenaries surged in. "Open fire!" I pulled the trigger on the grenade launcher, and the brilliant explosion stunned me temporarily.

All of a sudden, I was back at the warehouse, fighting for my life against fifteen mercs and an YMIR mech. Rook was looming over me, laughing maniacally like he was when he had me pinned near the end of the op. I tried to shrug off the feeling, but the vision of the krogan's throat spilling on the floor still haunted me to this day. Now that I was in combat, the visions were even stronger, and I was having a difficult time focusing on the battle at hand. "Onyx, what the hell are you doing? Sustain fire!"

I shook my head and tried to clear my thoughts, putting a Batarian in my sights and pulling the trigger. With unparalleled accuracy, the bullet went cleanly through, and the slaver dropped dead with the rest of the unit. After a few more exchanges, the entire unit was a pile of corpses in front of the museum. "Clear! Prepare for another unit, 'cause these guys aren't checking in anytime soon."

Shepard got out of cover and walked over to me. "What the hell was that?"

"I'm sorry?"

"You froze up during combat, and we almost broke venting rotations! We can't have that, especially if several more Batarian units show up and we'll be strained even more. Got it?" She sounded so stern when she talked, but I could definitely tell that she was a paragon. A renegade would have taken the chance to crack an insulting joke or something, but she was definitely more concerned about the civilians than humor.

"Won't happen again, Lieutenant. Just a small case of the nerves is all," I replied, and she eyed me suspiciously. "And besides, I'm not under your command. I'm a freelancing mercenary."

"Too bad, too. You'd make a killing as an officer in the Alliance. I'd be one proud officer if you were in my unit. Hell, half of these guys were ready to shit themselves until you shouted for them to get into the war museum." We were silent for a few moments before she decided to continue conversation. "So, you got a name other than Onyx, or are you going to keep making me call you by your stage name?"

"I've got one, but I'm not telling you it. Where's the fun in that?" Before she could reply, one of the soldiers up front reported a contact of about four or five heavily armed hostiles. "Combat positions, everyone! We're not out of this yet!"

* * *

"Sir, we've lost contact with Sigma-Five, who was sent to destroy the Human War Museum. What are your orders?"

"We lost an entire unit to those human pigs? I guess I underestimated them, they've proven to put up one hell of a fight! Send in the Hell Reavers! I want that entire building a pile of ash within the hour! Once the human resistance is crushed, then we can begin harvesting their civilians and sell them! Their price on the market is high these days, we're going to make a killing!"

"Warlord Brutus, we've got Alliance vessels approaching quickly! The _SSV Agincourt_ is within firing range, and it's begun charging their weapons!"

"What?! We weren't expecting any ships to arrive for another hour, at most! Arm the cannons, and alert the rest of the fleet that we're going on the offensive! All weapons are a go!" The Warlord grunted aboard his vessel that loomed over the once-beautiful planet of Elysium. "Let's see them withstand the new toys the Hegemony gave us!"

* * *

"Yeah, these guys aren't standard Batarian troopers!" one of the soldiers up front shouted. "Oh, shit!" He ducked with quick reflexes as a missile flew straight over him. "Hell Reavers!"

"What the fuck is a Hell Reaver?" I asked Shepard, who was crouched right next to me behind the tank. We'd already used our 'Explosions' card, so now we were going to have to fight this battle out Alamo-Style!

"Batarian Heavy Troopers… these are Hegemony soldiers! This operation is backed by the Hegemony! Ooh, I can't wait to be on the ground team that fucks their shit up once we push them back!" Shepard replied. "They're pretty tough, and can withstand a lot of shit from a distance. It'd be better for us all if we closed the distance; melee is the best way to take them out."

"You sound like you've fought them before!" I laughed as we prepared to face off the Hell Reavers. I prepared myself for a Pull to get at least one of them closer so we could rip him apart, and made sure that the shotgun that I got from the armory (an M-22 Eviscerator, which has proven to be much sturdier than that crappy one I started out with) was ready for action.

"Maybe I have, I'm not really at liberty to say. Don't want to get court-martialed after we're out of this shithole!" When the first Hell Reaver was in range, I target him with a Pull and landed the attack. As he drifted helplessly closer to us, the marines took their chance and filled him with 'metaphorical' lead. "Whoa! I've never seen _red_ biotics before!"

"I'm not surprised, we're a rare breed. You got anything up your sleeve?" I asked, trying to figure out what class she was.

"Sorry, Onyx, this gal prefers the use of big guns as opposed to flashy abilities!" Ah, so she was a _soldier_ Shepard. Huh, I was hoping for something a little more exciting… but it's cool nonetheless. As I'm sure you're aware, real life isn't limited like the game was. I can use Overload and Hack in addition to my standard Vanguard loadout, so I'm keeping an open mind with her. Maybe she'll surprise us all and throw down a turret or something.

"Hey, you don't see me complaining! The four other Hell Reavers learned from their first mistake and stayed out of range of most my abilities… all except one. "Shepard, I've got a plan, but it's kinda stupid!"

"Those are the ones that always work out in the end!" She shifted in cover to look directly at me. "Well, what is it?"

"I can still reach them with my charge, and I've got this," I told her, pointing at my new weapon. The monomolecular blade. I still had no idea how to use it, but how hard could it be? And if all else fails, I've still got my shotgun, right?

"One man with a death wish and a sword against four heavily armed Hell Reavers?" she asked, not sure if I was serious. "I'm not sure if I like those odds, Onyx!"

"Well… to hell with you! Geronimo!" I powered up my charge, noticing that between that and my pull, the crimson bar on the left of my UI was about halfway depleted, but was slowly rising once again. Before Shepard could complain, I released the energy and felt myself catapulted forwards in a burst of speed. I hit one of the Hell Reavers, who crashed to the ground in surprise. A bit disoriented, I stood there stunned before striking at the fallen one with my sword. With much more ease than I would've liked, the tip of the blade slid gracefully through his unarmored neck.

The other three were much quicker to react. I pushed one of them back with a reapotic wave, who stumbled back to the ground, and turned to the other two. I swung my blade at them, only for it to scratch the surface of their armor. Shit! I forgot to turn it on! The only reason it worked earlier was because it was on skin! The two of them smirked before the one I had attempted to dismember used his Batarian Gauntlet to painfully smack me across the street, causing the sword to clatter further away. It felt like back at the warehouse op when that krogan swung me like a ragdoll.

I picked myself up and queued another charge, tackling the one who smacked the Jebus out of me onto the ground. Using my shotgun, I fired several rounds into his face until the weapon overheated and all that remained was a bloody pulp. The one who I had pushed away earlier was back in the game, but I had managed to get my sword once again and turn it on this time. He swung his gauntlet at me, but I was quick enough to dodge it this time.

Everything kind of slowed down at this point, and time came to a halt. It felt like I had _time_ to plan this whole thing out, and I could experiment with how to kill this Hell Reaver. It wasn't a question of _if_; it was a question of _how_. I thought about one of my favorite moves from Mass Effect 3, which was the N7 Slayer's _Phase Disruptor_, how you would fire like an explosion of biotic energy by sacrificing a part of your barrier. I had no idea how to do it, but I decided to try it nonetheless. I drained some of my barrier and projected it into a ball of pure, reapari energy.

Within a second, I released the energy towards the Hell Reaver, but I don't think I quite expected it to be as large as it was. It hit him in the right shoulder, causing the detonation and disintegrating his entire right side before my eyes. I, on the other hand, was tossed backwards with more force than the Batarian Gauntlet. I skidded on the street in my ceramic plated armor, and the last Hell Reaver did the same. He got up faster than I did, and I saw him pull out a rocket launcher and have a clear shot at the tank that Shepard was behind. If he fired that and it hit the gas tank, Shepard would be killed on the spot. I saw that my reapari energy was completely depleted after that, but I continued to draw just enough energy for a charge.

Once again, I was catapulted at him. I had my sword drawn, this time on, and impaled him with it with incredible force. We continued going until we hit the wall of the building across the street, where the sword became lodged into the wall. The last Hell Reaver fell limp as he became a decoration on the wall of the building we hit.

"Well… that was fun…" I muttered as the marines rushed out to meet me. "Is it like super hot out here, or what?" I pressed the button that drew back my mask, and the marines gasped in shock. Shepard stepped forward, her mouth a bit gaped, and just… stared at me. "What?"

"Well, first, you're… just a kid!" she shouted as she took in my appearance. "You can't be older than eighteen! Here I was, thinking you were some kind of professional mercenary, but…"

"I'm nineteen, thank you very much! And I am professional!"

"But… you've got these weird red veins that are pulsing all up your neck. And they're glowing…" Oh, shit… Yeah, I forgot about that side effect when I overexerted myself with reapotics, only this time, I knew they were permanent until we figured out how to remove them. Not that it mattered since I couldn't even go home… "Are… are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's a… side effect, I guess, when I overuse my reap… my biotics. They should go away eventually… maybe… hopefully. Point is, once I get a bit of water, I'll be combat ready!" I shouted in excitement. No one moved. "Guess I have to get my own damn water then…"

"I'm not letting you back into the field." I turned to Shepard, who had a completely serious expression on her face.

"Not letting me… look, _Lieutenant_, I'm not under your jurisdiction, and I'm sure as hell not defenseless like you think I am! I just took out an entire unit of these _Hell Reavers_ on my own, and you want to put me on the sidelines 'cause I'm younger than you?"

"You're nineteen! You shouldn't be on the frontlines, and you sure as hell shouldn't have biotics that are that strong! In all of my years, I've never seen anyone do what you did! I mean, look at that guy's corpse! It's half of a Batarian now!"

"I'm probably the same age you were when you became an _officer! _I can take care of myself, Lieutenant, that battle was enough evidence to prove it! Besides, you need all the men you can get! We're at war here, and we've got to rally the colonists and seal the breach! While the battle goes on in orbit, we've got to help them out and clear the slavers out down here before they can escape with any slaves. To do that, you're going to need me!" We stared each other down for almost a minute before she said anything.

"Welcome aboard, Onyx. Let's give them hell."

* * *

"An entire unit of Hell Reavers?! DEAD?! FROM A SINGLE HUMAN?!" Warlord Brutus was in an outrage! The Hegemony said this was going to be an easy victory, a 'walk in the park' as the humans say. And here we were, engaging the _Agincourt _in an orbital battle while reinforcements arrived! The entire operation was crumbling around him, and he could do nothing to stop it!

"Sir, incoming transmission! It's… human in nature, but it's not Alliance!"

"Patch them through!" Brutus ordered sharply, and the ensign quickly confirmed it. Soon, the screen came up with a human face that looked like every other one of the pigs. "Who the hell are you, and what the hell do you want?"

_"Hello, Warlord Brutus! My name is Cobalt, and I'm here to save your floundering operation from completely falling apart! You see, there's a certain someone down there who's been plaguing my business on the Citadel. You may know him as Onyx, and he is the one who just took down your Hell Reavers singlehandedly. SO! I think we can reach a deal, don't you think?"_

"I don't deal with humans! I'd much rather end this conversation and continue ravaging your colony world while you're helpless to stop me!"

_"Oh I would love to go on and on about how our races hate each other and how we should remain enemies, but look around you. This entire operation is falling apart around you, and yet, you cling to racial prejudices even when it means your imminent doom. You're going to need some reinforcements, but I know that the Hegemony has been neglecting your pleas for help. So, in exchange for the capture of Onyx and Topaz and 20% of the profit made from selling the slaves, I will send my mercenaries to help in your operation. It should be enough to turn the tide of battle long enough for you to gather up a good amount of slaves and get the hell out of there. Do we have a deal?"_

"But… twenty percent… what… ARGH! Seeing as I have no other choice… I guess we do…"

_"Fantastic! I'll send my ships over at once, and we'll engage Alliance vessels on your behalf. We'll be able to escape with a decent amount of slaves or, with luck, the entire colony! I wish you well, Warlord. And… be sure to hold up your end of the bargain? I would hate to see your head on a pike should you choose to betray me."_

"I'll keep that in mind, _Cobalt_." And with that, the transmission ended. "Ensign, I want this colony wiped clean of life. If we don't secure at least half of the designated quota of slaves by the time the Alliance reinforcements arrive, then it'll be on your head! Relay those orders to all ground units! Capture these human pigs!"

"Oh, Brutus, I'm sure you'll want to belay that order if you want to get out of here alive." The warlord swerved around at the sound of a human behind him. "Ensign, don't hit that transmission button unless you want your head to end up on the other side of the room, got it?"

"Who the hell are you? And how the fuck did you get on my ship?!"

"You should know, Brutus, that one such as you can only argue from a position of strength. And right now, I think that ship has sailed." The mysterious human in white armor was pacing the room with his pistol out of its holster, pointed at the Ensign. "Well, I guess I should give you _something_ to get you to cooperate with me." He pushed a button on his omnitool, and the helmet he was wearing folded back into the base of the neck. His face was exactly the same as the one previously on the screen. "I'm Cobalt. And when those ships arrive, you are to open fire and _destroy _them all!"

* * *

**A/N: Two Cobalts? What are these shenanigans? We also begin to see signs of the reapari taking its toll on our hero! And how will the arrival of Cobalt's ships change the course of the Skyllian Blitz? I don't know, I haven't written it yet! Well, I guess I'll see ya later!**


	8. Cobalt vs Topaz

The Effect of One  
Chapter Eight Reboot

**A/N: Welcome back, my friends! I just wanted to thank you guys, because already I have over 1k views on this story! Cool! So, now that that's out of the way, here's chapter eight! We'll get some answers, and meet some new characters! I actually wrote a much longer chapter, but I thought it would be better as two separate chapters instead of one. But, since I had the second one already completed, I'm just going to go over it and release it soon.**

* * *

"How the hell can you be here? I just talked to you…" Brutus proclaimed, shaking his head and backing up. "And what the hell do you want me to shoot down your own ships?!"

"Good question, Batarian. Why do I want you to shoot down my ships?" the mysterious white armored man was tapping his chin with his right hand, and the Ensign was growing more and more restless. "Oh, I didn't forget about you. Twitch again, and your brains splatter the console, got it? Now. The man you saw on that screen was indeed me, but please, tell me something. What strikes you differently about me than the man you just saw?"

"I don't know, just tell me what you want with me!" the Warlord shouted while slamming his hands into the wall next to him.

"Straight forward and to the point. I like you, Brutus, so I'll just tell you the difference. I am Cobalt, but I'm about ten or eleven years older than what I just looked like! Aha! Didn't notice that, did you? I've got a few extra years under my belt! Explain that one, you scientific pricks!" he laughed slyly. "So, let's get to work, shall we?"

"Cobalt will have _my_ head if I turn against him! You better have one hell of a bargain if you think I'll listen to you. And what you're trying to tell me is that… you are from the future? TEN YEARS INTO THE FUTURE?" The Batarian Warlord burst into a fit of laughter, causing Cobalt to frown. "You're missing a hell of a lot of marbles, human, but you gave me a good laugh!"

"Now now, Brutus, you forget something." The Warlord looked up at the human, who had pulled out a detonator from one of his magnetic holding rack. "I'm still in control here, and I don't give a single damn about what you think. All you need to know is that I'm in charge, and I'm holding the gun. So, you have two choices, and you've got to make a decision rather quickly. One, you choose to ignore me, and I light this place up like a Christmas tree. Oh, but not _just_ this ship. All Batarian ships in orbit around Elysium. An electromagnetic pulse that should short circuit the cooling cells of your mass effect core. Boom! Then the Alliance shows up, sees a bunch of mercenary ships that belong to Cobalt, and they get destroyed.

"Or two. You can attack Cobalt's forces once they arrive, take them out or not, it doesn't matter. When the Alliance arrives, both fleets will be in disrepair and they'll be easily dispatched. I win either way. You, however, would be wise to choose the second one. With that option, you have a microscopic chance to escape. Those are your choices."

"And what if I shoot you here, on the spot? Then I can ally with Cobalt and continue on as planned!" Brutus replied with a wide grin.

"Well, these explosives are remote detonated, but I fixed up a little timer for each one of them. You have ten minutes to make a decision or this entire fleet goes boom, and if you kill me… well, same effect. Boom." Brutus's smile quickly disappeared as he weighed his choices before him. "Choose wisely, Brutus, because there are _no_ takesies backsies. Oh, and to prevent any confusion, don't call me Cobalt, okay?"

"Then what should I call you?"

"What everyone else does. Call me Topaz."

* * *

_Aboard the SSV Agincourt, in orbit over Elysium._

"Captain, sir, a large group of hostiles just appeared near the Batarian fleet! What're your orders?" Ensign Fulton reported as I paced the CIC. It had been one shit storm after the next since that kid had his temper tantrum in the Mess Hall a week ago. The parts for the GARDIAN Laser Defense System had been delayed, and now a fleet of Batarian slavers was trying to take Elysium. Just my luck! "Captain Bowman, sir?"

"What're our Kinetic Barriers at?" I asked.

"76%, sir."

"Focus fire on the frigate at the previously stated coordinates. We can't do anything about it until the rest of the fleet arrives, otherwise we'll be ripped to shreds," I replied as I looked out over the state of the planet. Illyria was in flames, and we had lost contact with New Athens shortly after the Batarians arrived. It was a good thing we showed up when we did, considering the Batarians appeared to be surprised at our sudden appearance. "Anything new on the state of the surface?"

"Yes, actually. A few minutes ago, Pressly managed to make contact with a group of marines that had holed up in the War Museum in New Athens. They fought off a unit of Hell Reavers and have begun searching for refugees to protect when the slavers come down," Ensign Fulton answered as he stared at his screen unwaveringly.

"Who's in charge of the unit?"

"A Lieutenant Junior Grade Amelia Shepard, their CO wasn't with them when the attack started, so she's calling the shots. But… she said she made a friend along the way. She says a mercenary named 'Onyx' has joined her to fight off the Batarians, and that he was responsible for the elimination of the Hell Reavers. Her description sounds a lot like that kid who blew up the Mess Hall a week ago."

"Richard? You've got to be kidding me…" Shepard was a good soldier, from what I've heard, and how she got mixed up with that… _delinquent _is beyond me. "Let her know that he's unstable and-"

"Sir! Scans have revealed that the enemy ships that just arrived… they aren't Batarian in design! In fact, they're human! The Batarians just opened fire on them, and now they're destroying each other! Alliance ships are in bound, and they demand to know what the situation is!"

"Regroup with the rest of the Fleet, and let the mercenaries tear themselves apart! When one side finishes the other off, I want a mass offensive against the remnants of _both_ fleets! Prepare rescue teams for drop when we clean up the orbit! I don't want a single civilian to leave the surface of this planet! And tell Pressly to maintain contact with Shepard, got it?"

"Yes, sir!"

* * *

_New Athens, Elysium_

"So…" Shepard started as we began walking casually down the street. We managed to secure the entire road from hostiles and moved all of the civilians into a safer structure, considering the Human War Museum had a huge gaping hole in it now. Oops. "How did you get into mercenary work at such a young age?"

Strange question, out of the blue. But I can't blame her for trying to make small talk, right? "I kinda got dragged into it, to be honest. But it puts food on the table, so I can't complain all that much. I get to shoot bad guys, which is pretty awesome, I guess. Not on board with the whole 'killing people' idea, and I really hope I never do," I answered.

"You sound like you should have enlisted in the Alliance," she replied quickly.

"Too much regulations for my liking. Tends to be a buzz kill. So how about you? How'd you end up 'Lieutenant Junior Grade' Amelia Shepard at your age?"

"I… don't really want to talk about it. Opening old wounds and what not. If you want the short version, I got officer rank when I was nineteen and I've been working up ever since. Should be reaching First Lieutenant soon enough, although this might accelerate it a bit." We continued walking, and I noticed that she would periodically put a finger to her right ear and talk softly. Very suspicious.

"Alliance Command giving us orders?" I asked, albeit a bit too sharply. She was being secretive, and it was annoying me slightly.

"Oh, it's nothing. Wait. Actually, Pressly told me to say 'Hi, Richard,' and that he still doesn't forgive you for blowing up the _Agincourt's _mess hall."

"Pressly, huh? And, obviously, he told you my name, so now I've lost my 'mysterious stranger' façade. Tell him that he can go shove his head out an airlock, mkay?" I chuckled softly. "I kinda blew up the mess hall as a result of a… biotic episode."

"Pressly said you tried to kill your friend, Topaz."

"Yeah, well… he had it coming." She stopped and put a hand on my shoulder, causing me to halt in my advance. "Look, it's a long story. But Topaz betrayed me in a way you can't possibly imagine, and I… reacted to it. Some would say an overreaction, but then again, they wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

"Shepard, is now _really _the time to be playing therapist? The next wave of Batarians are on their way, and we've got civilians to round up," I shot back.

"Fair point. But my CO taught me that a _true_ officer gives a shit about their men, and as of right now, that's what I see you as. I need to make sure that you aren't going to have some kind of violent episode that could jeopardize the mission."

"Trust me, Shepard, I'll be fine. It was probably a onetime occurrence, okay? But… speaking of Topaz, where the hell is he?" I thought to myself. I decided to check the tag I placed on him once I first got my omnitool. It allowed me to see the location of whomever I tagged, to which you could define as hostile or friendly. Very handy for identifying squad mates and keeping track of hostiles in the area.

"Alright, then. Let's move. This area is free of civilians and hostiles, so we'll move over into the next street. City Hall is only a few blocks away, and that's where most of the marines down here designated as the rally point for civilians and soldiers alike. My CO is there, and he's trying to restore order and lead the offensive. We can help him coordinate it." I wasn't really listening as I fiddled with my omnitool. The damn thing was saying that Topaz was in _orbit_ around Elysium. I gave up with the device and decided to just call it a bug or something.

"Alright, let's get a move on then. We've got some slaves to liberate!"

* * *

_In orbit around Elysium_

Brutus was flinching as he watched his ships be blown away by the superiority of Cobalt's fleet. By the time his remaining ships were destroyed and he was the last one left, Cobalt's fleet was at approximately at half strength. The Alliance would have no issue dispatching them, and already, they were turning to leave. Again, Cobalt was hailing the Warlord on screen. Brutus reluctantly answered it. "Cobalt."

_"I've ordered my men to leave this ship active just so I could sate my curiosity as to WHY you opened fire on MY ships that were coming to help YOU!" _the human angrily shouted at the Batarian. Topaz couldn't help but snicker as he away from the Warlord.

"Because some crazy human got aboard and threatened to take out my entire fleet with an EMP blast that would short out the mass effect core's cooling systems! It was either attack you or die in an explosion! I will not go back on my decision!" the Warlord replied.

_"Mass effect core cooling… The mass effect core doesn't have cooling systems! You discharge the heat at discharge stations! I have no need for blithering idiots such as you. Eliminate his ship, and then leave the system before the Alliance arrives!"_ The communication channel cut out, and Brutus roared in a complete fit of rage. The Ensign began to say something, but the Warlord was too furious to hear him. It wasn't until the thuds of cannon fire breached the kinetic barriers and ripped apart the hull did he notice that the ship was one escape pod missing.

"TOPAZ!" were the last words that rang through the Batarian ship as the escape pod plummeted to the surface of Elysium and the final rounds pierced the CIC and killed Brutus and his crew instantly. Topaz, as he sat casually in his escape pod, thought about his next move. Not _his _next move, but instead, Cobalt's next move. After all, he is Topaz, and Topaz is Cobalt. They were just separated by time. And, as Topaz pondered his past and considered what he had done, he couldn't help but smile. I mean, who else would get the chance to go back in time and stop themselves from committing atrocities? Sure, it'll change the future, but it was Topaz's way of achieving peace. In his own little way, he was getting retribution for all those who have died because of Cobalt. Because of himself.

* * *

_New Athens, Elysium_

The area in front of the City Hall was complete madness. Soldiers had begun to form defensive positions as they pushed the horde of Batarians back. They had sought to take the soldiers out and secure the civilians, who had taken refuge within the Hall itself, but quickly realized that it was no use and began to retreat. When we arrived, the soldiers were beginning to cheer. And we had seen why. The Batarian ships that had previously littered the sky were replaced with a violent cloud of fire. The Batarians saw it, the humans saw it, and the tide of war had begun to change. The soldiers began to contact the ships in the sky that had destroyed the Batarian ships, but no such contact was made. Those ships were not Alliance vessels. The previous morale that had been gained was immediately lost, even as the Batarians retreated.

Shepard and I made our way to the top of the steps of the City Hall, where a gruff man was giving orders to newly arrivals. "Captain Gray, sir! We've brought you some more survivors, and I'm happy to report that we suffered no casualties."

"I noticed. Good work, Lieutenant, I'll get the civilians sorted out as soon as I can. I see you picked up a stray dog along the way, as well! Captain Jordan Gray, commander of the _SSV Pearl Harbor_. Unfortunately, she's at the docks right now, otherwise I'd be up in orbit, fighting the bastards myself. And you are?"

"Richard Thorne. Mercenary; although not with that lot. I was on here on a nice vacation when it was interrupted by the four-eye's slave raid. So, where do you need me, Captain?" I asked. Shepard never took her eyes off him, and the look she gave him as he barked orders was one of admiration and deference.

"As of right now, we could simply use another gun. So I'd like you to stick with Amelia for now, and I'll let you know if that changes. The Batarians realize this is a lost cause, so they've changed tactics. They're aiming for the most casualties they can get before the Alliance sends in the rescue teams, so we can't let that happen. Since we're the most organized out there, they're trying to break our line. We can't let them get into the City Hall, as we have over two hundred scared civvies in there. Any particular set of skills you have?"

"I'm a biotic," I tell him, flaring my glowing red hand in front of him. "Don't ask about the color, I don't really have an answer for it…"

"Hey, you don't see me asking questions. All I see is a biotically-capable soldier willing to put his life on the line, so I can't complain. Now, all hell's broken loose, since we don't know whose ships are up there. The Alliance should be arriving any minute now, but those ships appear to be leaving. Let's hope the boys in the sky can shoot them down before they get too far away." Before I could answer, one of the soldiers with futuristic-binocular-things called out contact.

"We've got a Batarian escape pod, coming in fast! It's headed right for us!" he shouted quickly. "Withdraw! Withdraw!"

"Everyone, move back from the impact zone!" Gray ordered, grabbing the binoculars from the soldier. "Estimated impact… minus three! Two! One!" The pod landed with a loud crash that caused the foundation of the buildings around it to shudder from the beatings they've been getting. "Focus fire! I want whatever is inside that thing dead as soon as it gets out!"

The door was kicked open by a familiar white boot. A human head popped out with a wide grin, but immediately fell back in when several rounds of assault rifle fire cause his shields to flare. "SHIT! Whoa, calm down! I'm friendly!"

"Hold your fire!" I shouted, and Gray looked at me like I was crazy. "I know him. He is one crazy bastard, but he won't hurt the civilians. Let him up here to explain himself, and if he doesn't have a good story, I'll execute him myself." Gray nodded and went back to ordering his soldiers to form up a defensive line. "Topaz, get up here you deranged idiot."

"Onyx! Good to see you again! Although… you're probably still mad at me, huh? Well, you'll never believe what I just did! I managed to convince the Batarian Captain up there, a 'Warlord' named Brutus, that I had an EMP that would disable his mass effect core cooling systems! When his reinforcements arrived, he did as I said and fired on them! Brilliant, huh?" Captain Gray had joined our conversation after refortifying the perimeter.

"Ships don't have mass effect core cooling systems. They discharge their heat when in the electromagnetic field of a planet or a discharging station," Gray replied shortly.

"That's why it's so funny! Oh, man, Cobalt never saw it coming! Not from a mile away! Batarians are so _stupid_, I'm surprised they've made it this far! So, the Alliance is pretty much here, they'll clean up the rest of Cobalt's ships, and we can begin to retake the planet."

"Why the _hell_ was Cobalt here?" I asked, curious. A human crimelord such as him would have no need to put himself in the potential line of fire in an assault such as this.

"Well, he wanted us. Or, rather, you. His entire empire on the Citadel collapsed when we gave the Detective those files, and I'd assume he'd want revenge. He put, like, five hundred thousand credits over your head, and some people might want to collect," Topaz explained.

"Look, you two can play catch up later, but for now, we've got to prepare for the next wave of Batarians. They'll have seen the drop pod land, and they might think reinforcements have arrived or something. We need to be ready if they show up. So, as before, Richard, you're with Shepard. Topaz, since you obviously have some kind of death wish, you're on recon duty. Get to positions, on the double!" Gray ordered, and Shepard saluted.

"I thought this guy was in the navy, not some kind of marine officer…" Topaz muttered as he walked away, his recent triumph stamped on by the coming events. I couldn't help but laugh as he got into position, but continued pouting like a small child.

* * *

**A/N: Man, the scene with Warlord Brutus and Cobalt/Topaz was fun as hell to write. Love them time travel shenanigans! We begin to learn quite a bit about Topaz's past, like what he did before Cerberus.**

** Also, I wanted to answer Michae1ange1o's question about Reapari. Reapari is different from Biotics in the sense that the power used is different. When the Reapers invaded and won the war in Topaz's old universe, their weapons gave off this energy that could be absorbed in massive quantities and be used as a substitute to Eezo. I could have called them simply red biotics, but I wanted to come up with my own thing. And you're right, it will cause some issues in the future if Richard continues to call it reapotics. He realizes this, and calls it red biotics when in the presence of others, but calls it reapotics in the presence of Topaz. And Tupari? That's the turian energy drink or something, right? I didn't even think of that when naming it... But whatever :P**


	9. Beginnings of a Hero

The Effect of One  
Chapter Eight Reboot

**A/N: The last chapter in the Elysium story arc! Where will we go next? I've got a good idea, considering I wrote it, but it's for you to read on and find out! Here's Chapter Nine!**

* * *

_February 17th, 2176 Common Era. New Athens, Elysium, Vetnus System. TUS: Approx. Seven Year_

_Several Hours Later_

Topaz came back with the scouting report, and it wasn't good at all. The Batarians were massing a few blocks over, and he reported that there were several hundred of them, at least. There were only fifty of us, and that was giving us too much credit. Alliance vessels arrived and had begun engaging the last of Cobalt's fleet a few hours earlier, and things were going alright up there. Down here, though, it was still chaos. There were estimates that New Athens alone still had one thousand, minimum, Batarians fighting for survival. Pockets of resistance had turned into full counter attacks, and now they were backed into a corner. But that was when someone was at their most dangerous.

Weapons were scarce, and we were mostly armed with some form of melee weapons. We had disarmed the civilians that we had given the weapons from the War Museum and armed appropriately trained soldiers. However, this still left us with the majority without weapons, and with several hundred Batarians that were fully armed. Most of the soldiers here were off duty and just taking in the scenery, so they were lacking armor as well. The only people who were armored were Captain Gray, Shepard, Topaz, five other marines, and myself. The rest were exposed and only had minor shield modules to protect them.

I gave up my shotgun, much to my distaste, since I had the monomolecular blade and biotics. Overall, the odds were against us. It was us, fifty or so soldiers with only less than half of us with projectile weapons, against two hundred or so Batarians that had massive guns and flashy equipment. Our goal was to protect the civilians inside the City Hall at all costs. A few of them have even offered themselves to help us fight, despite Captain Gray's reluctance to let them in the field. When they didn't give him much of a choice, he armed them with some crude melee weapons and stationed them inside of the City Hall. In the event that we couldn't hold the Batarians off, they could at least defend themselves.

The forward scouts began to appear an hour later. Captain Gray ordered them to be immediately killed, and a sniper picked them off with extreme precision. Topaz, who had given up his guns to other soldiers, was looking forward to fighting the Batarians in good, old fashion 'fisticuffs.' Of course, good and old fashioned didn't include advanced, Reaper-powered biotics. Even Captain Gray was going in, armed only with a pistol and a lead pipe for when it became overheated.

This next part reminded me of the scene from the Dark Knight Rises, when the police officers from the tunnels prepare to go up against Bane's army of criminals with nothing but batons and fists, with the occasional side arms. The Batarians rushed us with all of their forces, and Captain Gray led the charge towards the Batarians. Already, a few of us were killed in the initial hail of bullets, but some shields held up as the Batarians realized they needed to vent their heat.

I biotically charged the closest Batarian I could target and released the energy. He fell to the ground immediately, dropping his weapon. With a sickening crunch, I crushed his skull underneath my armored boot. One of our soldiers dove, scrambling for the new weapon available. I activated my blade and pulled a Batarian with my reapotics, impaling him on my sword. Seeing how deadly I was, a group of them turned their focus from the lightly armored melee humans to me. Big mistake. While focused on me, it gave the other humans an opening to lay down the hurt.

The soldiers began to beat down some of the Batarians, giving us access to heavier weaponry. After the initial adrenaline, however, we realized we were sustaining heavy casualties, and we began a slow retreat with our new guns. Topaz had decked a Batarian with his reapotic fist, causing several of his teeth to fly onto his friend. Shepard was firing round after round from her shotgun at the Batarians as they began to swarm her, and when it overheated, she began fighting hand-to-hand. Captain Gray was fighting with another marine as they tried to take down what looked like a make-shift Batarian Hell Reaver.

Unfortunately, the Batarians were quickly overwhelming us, and the soldiers who had secured the new weapons retreated and distributed them among the unarmed. We had lost twenty men in the attack, and were down to thirty to protect the City Hall. Captain Gray, wiping fresh Batarian blood off of his face, was among the last to retreat, along with myself, Shepard, and Topaz. "Retreat to the defensive positions in front of the City Hall! Don't let these bastards near the civvies!" I was about to do as he said until I saw Shepard, facing down with a Batarian who was about to smack her down with a Gauntlet. Luckily, she filled his chest with lead before he could do so. That wasn't what worried me. A sniper, obviously Batarian, appeared in the corner of my vision atop a building across the street. I think Gray saw it as well, because he immediately turned to Shepard and ran towards her.

I was about to warn Shepard when I heard the gunshot. No, no, no! It can't be like this, Shepard is supposed to _survive!_ I begin freaking out, and I could tell that Topaz was visibly worried as well. We ran over to where Shepard was last, but it was quickly becoming swarmed by a couple of Batarians. I charged up a _Phase Disruptor_ and quickly projected it in front of me. The two Batarians were knocked back from the blast, but only one of them was killed. "Topaz, keep us covered!" I yelled as I slid my sword into the other's throat. Running quickly to the location where I last saw Shepard, I was appalled by the sight that was before me.

* * *

The first thing that I noticed was that it wasn't Shepard. In fact, Shepard was on the ground a foot or two away from it. She picked herself up, rubbed the back of her head that she hit when she landed on the asphalt, and looked over to see what happened. I looked down to see that the person who had taken the bullet was Captain Gray. Shepard immediately ran over and began to grow teary eyed. "WE NEED A MEDIC!" she shouted at me, grabbing my shoulder plate. I nodded and began looking for a nearby soldier, but they had all retreated. The Batarians were closing in, and only Topaz stood between them and us, projecting a large reapotic barrier that kept us fully covered. The marines from behind cover tried to provide suppressive fire, but it was likely that they might hit us, so they did it sparingly.

"Shepard…" Gray muttered, coughing up an extremely unhealthy amount of blood. I took out a tube of medigel, but he put a hand out to stop me. "Don't bother… I'm probably not going to… make it anyway…" As much as I didn't want to agree, he was right. A huge gaping hole in his chest from the sniper round wasn't something you could just walk off.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, RICHARD?! PUT IT ON!" Shepard shouted at me, but I ignored her and put the tube back. "You can't just… you can't…"

"Listen, Shepard… Remember what I told you… You will aspire to great things… I just know it… But right now… these men need a leader… and I wouldn't pick… anyone over you… to lead them. Protect the civilians… at all costs…" he coughed some more, revealing more blood. I had to look away. Everyone that I've seen be killed had done so instantaneously. Having to watch someone give us their final words was heart wrenching, to say the least.

"They don't need me, Gray! They'll have you! Now, come on, Richard! Help me get him some medical attention!"

"Richard, we need to go!" Topaz shouted. I turned to see him holding back several Batarians with a red barrier, but it was beginning to crack under the pressure of several guns beating against it. "I can't hold it much longer!"

"Richard!" Shepard cried, clinging closely to Gray's lifeless body. And I was now faced with a decision that would be horrible, no matter which option I chose.

"Amelia… he's gone… Even if we took him back, he would've still died from blood loss. I'm sorry, but we've got to get back to the defensive positions. Those men need a leader, and you have to be that leader!"

"But… I don't… Gray's always been the leader!"

"I understand, Lieutenant, but look around you! It's time to step up, Shepard. Be the War Hero of Elysium! Make sure that those civilians inside the City Hall are there to live another day, to breathe tomorrow's air! Right now, you are all that stands between them and those Batarians! Speaking of which, are starting to close in on us _really _quickly!" Shepard kneeled there, silently looking at the Captain's corpse. And I think something snapped or clicked into place, I'm not sure. She grabbed the dog tags he wore across his neck, picked up his pistol, and looked me in the eyes.

"We should go."

* * *

We rushed back to the defensive position, Topaz covering our rear. "Open fire! Don't let a single one of these fuckers live for what they've done!" Shepard ordered as she picked up a new gun. "Captain Gray is KIA, so from now on, you take orders from _me!_" I smiled as I heard those words, because that sounded like the Shepard I knew from in game. The one that takes charge of the situation. The one that looks at impossible odds and says, "Charge." Or maybe that was to the red sand volus junkie… I don't know, but the point is, she was much younger than the Shepard I knew, but slowly becoming more like her.

The situation we were in, however, was not so good. We lost another four men, bringing our numbers down to twenty five. Normally, I'd say that was a hell of a lot of soldiers, but in this case, it really wasn't. The Batarians outnumbered us almost six to one, and we were quickly being overwhelmed. Unlike when we first started, though, all of these soldiers now had guns to use, and then some left over. Civilians that had volunteered rushed out and picked up these extra weapons, joining their military in the defense of the innocents. Brave souls, those ones.

My neck was searing in pain, and I didn't have to check the HUD on my helmet to figure out why. In that battle, I had strained my reapari-amps like crazy, and now the scars were running even further up my neck and down my shoulder. I put it in the back of my mind and focused on the goal at hand. The Batarians were making a much more aggressive push, and we were struggling to cope. "Hold the line, men!" I laughed as I thought of Captain Kirrahe on Virmire, who would say the very same thing against impossible odds. Yeah, we could do this.

I lined what looked like a Batarian Hell Reaver into my sights and began to fire in bursts to prevent my weapon from overheating. He pulled out a rocket launcher-type of weapon and aimed it at a group of humans near the base of our defenses. I continued to fire until his shields gave, forcing him into cover. When my shields began to flare from the fire coming to my right, I ducked into cover and changed targets. The Hell Reaver would be suppressed for now, so I could focus on another hostile. I switched the assault rifles' firing mode to semi-automatic and placed my shots carefully. After five rounds, the Batarian's shields broke, and I nailed a shot directly through the skull. Headshot, baby!

The Hell Reaver was back up, and this time, he brought a friend. Taking the original target that he had tried to kill last time, he aimed and prepared to fire. I attempted to project a biotic barrier in front of them, and successfully did so, but the distance was far enough for it to be extremely weak. The rocket exploded on impact with the shield, sending the men tumbling. The next rocket, unfortunately, had nothing to block its path. "Eastern defenses are crumbling, we just lost two men down there! Take out those Hell Reavers!" Today was going to be a long day…

Our radios began bursting with chatter from other resistance fighters in pockets across the city. They were claiming that the Batarians were retreating towards the City Hall and, once they licked their wounds, the marines would follow. Radio contact was established between Shepard and some Alliance Captains in orbit, who claimed that reinforcements were on their way. The orbital battle was won, and now it was time to clean the Batarian resistance off of the surface of the planet.

I picked out a target and fired a burst of assault rifle fire, taking down his shields. Topaz found himself a pistol and finished him off with a precise shot to the head. I turned to him and smiled. Yeah, I was still pissed at him, but who could stay mad at him forever? He was like a mischievous puppy. Two more Batarians replaced the one we killed, and their suppressive fire pinned us behind the barricades we had set up. "Got any grenades?" I asked.

"Who needs grenades when you've got reapotics?" he returned with a smile. He threw an orb of glowing red power that exploded into a wave of energy that consumed the two Batarians, allowing us to move out of cover and attack a new group of hostiles. "And that's how you kill people… _with style!_"

I lined up my sights with another Batarian, who was trying to take down one of the civilians with a gun. Before he could do any damage, the civilians random spraying broke his shields, and the last thing going through that guy's head was my bullet. After this, I wouldn't even know how many tally marks to put on my armor, the number would be too high. And, to be honest, that deeply disturbed me. I have now, quite literally, killed more people than I can count.

Before I could degrade myself any further, the loud boom of Alliance vessels entering the lower atmosphere filled our ears. Rescue teams were being dropped in Makos across the city, and aircraft were running recon trips in the other parts of New Athens. Soldiers cheered as the Batarians looked skyward at their imminent destruction.

In a surprise attack, marines from other parts of the town flooded into the street in front of the City Hall. The Batarians were cornered with nowhere to run, so they put down their weapons in surrender. Shepard looked over the legions of marines that began to kick away the Batarian's weapons, as some refused to surrender and continued to fight. Makos filled with rested and fresh troops took over, collecting dog tags of the fallen or beginning search parties for lost civilians and fleeing Batarians. All of a sudden, today felt like one long stretch of hell, and it was finally over. We had survived the Skyllian Blitz.

* * *

_A Few Hours after the Alliance Arrived_

"Are you Lieutenant Shepard?" a man asked, interrupting our conversation. He looked like one of those hardcore military guys, the kind that you don't mess with (kinda reminded me of Sergeant Major Johnson from Halo). Amelia stood up and nodded, wiping a tear from her face. She was telling me a bit about Captain Gray, who was like a father to her. I wasn't sure if that meant that she didn't know her parents (which rules out Earthborn) or if it was just figurative. "We understand that Captain Jordan Gray fell in the line of duty, is this correct?"

"He took a sniper round to the chest… saving my life…" she muttered, the flow of tears beginning to renew. "But yes. He went KIA about an hour before reinforcements arrived."

"And I take it that you took charge and led the resistance that saved over two hundred civilian lives. Some of the other soldiers are calling you a hero, and to be honest, those claims would be accurate in my eyes. Able to hold off over one hundred Batarians with only thirty men, even if only for an hour, is impressive."

"I'm sorry, what did you say your name was?"

"I didn't, I apologize. My name is Max Dustin, and I'm a scout for the Systems Alliance N7 program. Can we discuss this in a place that's more… private?" He looked at me like I was some kind of criminal, but I took the hint.

"I guess that's my cue, Amelia. I wish you the best of luck, and… kick some ass for me, will ya?"

"You aren't going to stay for the memorial?" she asked, looking at me questioningly.

"I don't think the Alliance will appreciate awarding a mercenary the 'Star of Terra! for serving above and beyond the line of duty,' so I'll take my chances elsewhere. Besides, Topaz and I have got a lot of catching up to do. For starters… how the hell he got on that Batarian's ship…" I said, causing Shepard to laugh.

"So… will I ever see you again, Onyx?"

"Well, see, now it sounds ridiculous since you know my actual name," I chuckled. "Honestly? I think so. The Alliance doesn't like taking a black eye, so when they do, they like to retaliate hard. Since the Hegemony 'wasn't a part of this,' we'll probably seek our vengeance against wherever those mercenaries came from. And when we do, I'll be there to get revenge on these bastards for all the loss of life they caused here. If I'm not dead, of course. So, until then… farewell, Amelia Shepard."

"Goodbye to you as well, Onyx the Mercenary. And if you die before we see each other again, I'm going to follow you to the depths of hell and slap you myself!"

"And I don't doubt it for a second."

* * *

"Ah, finally! The hero of the hour has arrived!"

"Hero? I wasn't the one who tricked an entire fleet into shooting itself. Look… I just wanted to apologize for the way-"

"No need, kid! I deserved it anyway. Has anyone ever told you that you can pack one hell of a punch? I had to crack my jaw back into proper alignment after you went to town on me!" Topaz laughed, playfully punching his own jaw for emphasis.

"No, because most of the time, the people I punch with above-average strength biotics doesn't live to tell the tale." We both shared a chuckle, but then I remembered the real reason why I came to find Topaz. "Why was Cobalt really here?"

"He was here to find you and I, honest. He lost a lot of money because of us, and no one would question the disappearance of two measly mercenaries in the madness of the Skyllian Blitz," he explained. I still felt like he was hiding something, but I decided not to push it. We just got back to friendly terms, and I didn't want to ruin it already.

"Also… I made a promise to Shepard…"

"Oh yeah? And what's that?"

"2178. Torfan. We're going to help them with the retaliation assault," I replied.

"Alright! Good to know! Cobalt's going to be there, so we can kill two birds with one stone while we're at it!" Topaz exclaimed.

"Wait… how do you know that Cobalt is going to be on Torfan at that point in time?" I asked, growing a bit more suspicious. Where I would have normally trusted Topaz, his previous revelation shattered my trust in him. Now, I had to be more wary.

"Hmm? Oh, just a hunch. It's a criminal base, and he's a criminal. I just put two and two together, no big deal."

"Whatever you say, Topaz. Whatever you say."

* * *

**A/N: And that wraps up Elysium! Torfan is in two years (and that's not something I can just skip, right?), and our hero will be joining them in the assault against the criminal base! As you might have guessed, I'm going to be using every psychological profile option (_maybe_ not Akuze, only because I'm still trying to figure out when to place that). I'm a horrible person, making Shepard go through all of that. Anyway, there's our first interaction with Shepard! Pretty awesome, eh? I'll see you guys next time!**


	10. The Mysterious Offer

The Effect of One  
Chapter Ten Reboot

**A/N: With the Elysium Story Arc at a close, where will our hero go next? I also just realized that when I say 'our hero,' I'm referring to myself. 'Cause I'm the hero. Heh. Alright, enough ego building, let's get this chapter started!**

* * *

_ This is the Citadel News Network, bringing you the truth and nothing but the truth! In a surprising turn of events, the human colony of Elysium was attacked by mercenaries at around midday yesterday. The attack only lasted a few hours, but casualties have yet to be determined. The Alliance has reported that the intentions of this attack force was to enslave humans from the colony to be sold somewhere off planet. We are pleased to report that no colonists were able to be taken, and casualties mostly fall under Alliance armed forces and mercenaries._

_ What confuses the speculators of the attack is the fact that the mercenaries received aid from an unknown source. The make of the ships used in the attack was Batarian, and some of the tech that they had access to only belongs to the Hegemony. Officials from the Hegemony refuse to comment on the situation, but have visibly withdrawn their fleet closer to their home world. It is clear that they expect retaliation from the Alliance, whether or not it is well deserved._

_ Reports are also coming in that human mercenaries played a role in the attack as well. A fleet of human ships that were independent of the Alliance arrived and intended to aid the Batarian mercenaries in the attack. However, the Batarians turned on their allies in the middle of the attack for unknown reasons, and the superior human fleet ripped them to shreds. Some soldiers are reporting that a human mercenary by the name of Topaz was responsible for turning the Batarians against their allies, but the details remain unknown. This Topaz appears to be the same Topaz that was responsible for aiding his accomplice, Onyx, in destroying the Red Sand warehouse on the Citadel mere weeks ago. Lieutenant Junior Grade Amelia Shepard, a veteran from the attack, was asked to make a comment._

_ "Onyx left before he could receive recognition for his actions, and because of that, he remains a dirty mercenary from the Terminus Systems in the eyes of the Alliance and the Galactic Community. He doesn't deserve that, and the same goes for Topaz. They were among the first to raise arms against the invaders, and I admire them for that. Whether or not Topaz actually did what he claims he did is beyond me, but he arrived in a Batarian escape pod shortly after the Batarian Fleet was obliterated. And I wouldn't put it beyond the crazy *******. They deserve as much recognition as the rest of us, and the fact that they chose not to receive it speaks volumes about them."_

_ Our hearts go out to the families of those who perished in the attack on Elysium, and we'll have more word on the situation of the surface shortly. Fearing another attack, the Alliance has adopted a policy to increase the defense of several colony worlds. Whether or not the Alliance will retaliate against the Hegemony is unknown, but let's hope this incident doesn't evolve into an all out war. _

_ In unrelated news, the CEO of Cobalt Industries, Toni Markham, has announced that his company will be taking a huge hit in the upcoming quarter. He claims that they will be undergoing massive reform in the engineering process, and the amount of credits going into this will be massive. Hopefully, they will recover in time for the next quarter, and everything will be normalized. Until then, investors are appearing wary, and are reluctant to put money into a business that is appearing to flounder…_

* * *

"Ha!" Topaz shouted from the other room of the flat while I put my gear in storage on the top shelf of my closet. "Did you know that the Alliance put a bounty of two million credits over us because they thought we were part of the attack? If not for Shepard, we'd be Top Most Wanted!"

"Alliance pricks," I shouted back, closing the doors. "So… what's our next assignment? Torfan is in two years, we can't sit on our asses during all that time. What's Cobalt up to?"

"_Cobalt _has gone into hiding. We destroyed the majority of his private fleet, which means his assets are undefended. We can either wait until someone else topples him or hunt him down on Torfan. That means we can take a two year vacation!" He continued surfing on the extranet until he passed an article that interested him, drawing his attention away from me.

I went into the kitchen to grab a soda. Believe it or not, Coca Cola actually survived to this age, and it tasted the same. You could even buy them in metal cans like the old days, which gave the satisfactory *pop* ~sizzle~ that we all know and love. I tried some other sodas, some alien, but nothing came close to good old fashioned Coca Cola.

I headed into the workshop, which was actually just the living room converted into a mess of work tables, welders, and weapon racks. I lost my shotgun (my poor, poor M-22 Eviscerator!) in the madness of Elysium, so Topaz went out and bought me a nice, fancy Armageddon MK VIII. It was heavy, reliable, and I could smack around target dummies with it as a nice club if it overheated. Luckily, I made out with the Batarian assault rifle I snatched near the end of the Blitz. After examining it, I realized that it was a Terminator MKIII (so weak!) by Batarian State Arms. I was modifying it with improved optics to increase accuracy, because I couldn't afford missing shots when in the middle of combat. "So Shepard is going to be on Torfan, huh?"

"Yeah, she said she was going to join the counter attack, if the Alliance decides to do one. Why?" I asked, setting down my tools.

"No reason. I'm just making plans for the attack and stuff. You'll join Shepard in the assault while I hunt down and 'arrest' Cobalt. Our 'anonymous benefactor' wants him alive, so until I can convince him otherwise, we'll have to do so if we want continued funding."

"Bummer. If you can convince him to allow us to execute him, let me have a few shots at him before you pull the plug. What that asshole did is unforgivable. Besides, how do you know where he's going to be? I'm pretty sure that crimelords don't post their calendar on the extranet for all to see."

"I guess you're right… I'm guess I shouldn't leave anything to chance. I'll use the Cerberus Network to monitor his location and orders." Topaz exclaimed. "That way, we can ensure this asshole's execution!"

"By all means. I'd love for another one of our vacations on mercenary hub. They're so special! Now, please. I've got some modifications to do with my armor since our last trip, okay? At this rate, I might as well live in my armor! The thing smells like… human!"

"Oh, yeah… human smells terrible. Don't you hate it when your pants start to smell like turian? I mean, that's the worst!"

"Yeah, yeah. Save the sarcastic remarks for Joker, alright? I'm going to go back to work, and you are going to start looking for people to shoot. We can't stay cooped up in here forever, or I'll end up killing you instead," I scoffed, turning on my modification app on my omnitool. Time to get this Terminator MKIII up to a MK VIII!

* * *

_Two Days Later_

The past few days had blurred into a drag. The past week was exciting; getting to explore a new, alien world, fighting slavers in the streets, meeting the future hero of the entire damn universe. Yeah, hard to live up to that. I finished modding my Terminator, and it looked absolutely badass. I also managed to get my hands on some omnigel, allowing me to repair the various bullet holes in my armor. I considered filling in the tallies I made, counting those that I've killed. It was still at thirty six, and I had no way of knowing how many Batarians I killed since the Blitz began. Like I said before, I had literally killed more living people than I can count, which is exactly what I wanted to avoid.

In the end, though, I did decide to cover it with omnigel. I felt a pang of guilt as I did, and rightfully so. I mean, I've killed so many people, that I can't even tell you how many, let along their names. All of them had families, friends, and lives to go back to, even if they were corrupt and foul. _Someone_ would miss them.

After beating the crap out of my conscience for the day, I moved on to upgrading my armor. Right now, it remained the awesome ODST model that Topaz made for me the day after I got to this universe. It was tough and reliable, so I wasn't aiming to replace it. But… we had to do something about the color scheme. It needed black, otherwise I wouldn't be Onyx, you know? Can't be running around in bright blue armor, telling people, "I'M ONYX, FEAR ME!" I picked gold as trim, for starters. I _know_, so generic, right? Just hold on, alright? On the chest plate, I decided to paint a lion's maw. To be honest, it looks totally rad. If you want a specific description, it's kinda like the logo for the Alliance on World of Warcraft, but from a side view of the lion and the maw open in a roar.

When I offered to paint Topaz's armor, he told me he preferred to keep it as it was. It was also like ODST armor, but it was a bright white. It kind of stood out, considering it blended with absolutely nothing with the orange trim that covered the edges. Recently, something's been bumming Topaz out. I think it has something to do with Cobalt, because he has this look on his face every time something about Cobalt Industries appeared on the news. It was pretty obvious that the two corresponded, but it turns out that Cobalt kept his nose clean. If something of his was caught, there was no mention of his name or his company involved. The guy was a mastermind, apparently.

So I had finished upgrading my equipment and had taken it for a spin in the combat arena that was still set up in the warehouse. The Terminator proved to be very efficient at taking out shields, but lacked that power when it came to armor. My Armageddon, however, was very effective when it came to close quarters (what shotgun isn't? *cough* Katana *cough*) and could pierce armor where my Terminator couldn't. And when both failed, I still had my awesome freaking sword from the museum! I remain untrained, but I've been searching for some kind of instructor. It was beyond even Topaz's skill.

Once practice was over, I decided to head over to the terminal Topaz set up in my room. He finally thought I was ready for the extranet, so he had a really good computer installed using Cerberus funds (suck it, Harper!). I hopped into my chair and signed on to the terminal, bringing up my homepage. Since I've arrived, I was given an identity and, with it, an account on the extranet. This account contains all of my funds (which is still loading… how big can it be?) as well as personal information regarding my history and status, mostly for C-Sec to keep tabs on the population.

Well, with an account comes an email. And, thanks to the imagination of the Illusive Man himself, it's known as . So, basically, anyone can email me if they know my name. FANTASTIC. First to appear in my inbox was an email from Shepard. I clicked it and immediately, the contents of the email opened up before me.

_Onyx,_

_I just wanted to thank you again for your services on Elysium. Seriously, you two are crazy. But you're so very different from the mercenaries that the Alliance always tries to hunt down. If you watch the news, I managed to get you a pardon. They were going to order your immediate capture and execution until I intervened. I'll keep this nice and short, since I'm going under communication blackout for a bit, but I just wanted to tell you that I won't forget what you did for me. And for Captain Gray. When we meet again, try to get some stories out of me. He was one hell of a soldier. _

_So, again, it was nice meeting you. I'm sure you're hard at work hunting down the bastards who did this, much like the Alliance is. When we begin the counter attack, I'll be sure to let you know. _

_Remember Elysium,  
[Redacted] Amelia Shepard_

I checked the email as read, and as I continued scrolling, I felt… empty. I had finally changed the future, having helped the soon-to-be Commander herself become the leader she was supposed to be. But… just look at the cost to do that. An entire colony was invaded by mercenaries, and innocent people died. The only thing that kept me thinking that this was a victory was the fact that, if this didn't go down like it did, the entire universe would pay for it down the road. And that wasn't an option.

The email directly under Shepard's was what caught me off guard. It was from the Alliance. _Frack_. I'd bet anything that Alliance Command was monitoring who Shepard would contact, and now they used her to pinpoint my identity. Well… I guess I couldn't hope to remain hidden forever, right? Here goes nothing…

_Richard Thorne AKA Onyx, _

_First off, the Alliance as a whole would like to thank you for your services on Elysium. We truly are in your debt. It has come to our attention that you have been involved in disrupting the affairs of a crimelord by the name of Cobalt. We believe he was responsible for the human reinforcements that were aiding the Batarians over Elysium, but do not have enough evidence to back it up. We would like to meet with you to propose a deal that, for the time being, will remain unknown. This channel isn't encrypted, so we would like to meet in person before disclosing the details. Tomorrow, at around 2 o'clock Citadel Time, report to the human embassy on the Zakera Ward. I look forward to meeting the 'Onyx Mercenary' in person._

_Zachary Orion  
Coordinator of Alliance Contracting Specialists. _

Well… that could've gone worse, I suppose. They might have sent a squad of marines to apprehend me and interrogate me or something, although they wouldn't have gotten very far. If anyone who is armed comes within five blocks of the flat, Topaz has automated defenses spring up, in addition to alerting us as well. We'd be ready way before the marines had the decency to knock on the door. I forwarded the email to Topaz, who looked over it from the other room. "This is how I struck the deal with them last time…" he muttered just loud enough so that I could hear. Time to do some negotiations. Well, tomorrow anyway.

An hour later, I was out the door to go for a run. I needed to clear my head, and when better to do that then on a nice, evening jog? I borrowed a light shield generator and a handgun, just in case Cobalt decided to leave some thugs behind to harass us. The Kithoi Ward, I noticed, had cleaned itself up since we left a week ago. Not any major changes, mind you, but small things were evident. No more shady characters hiding outside the bars, no more worried workers looking over their shoulder due to paranoia… overall, the entire Ward seemed to be a better place.

"Yeah, we're cleaning up the rest of Cobalt's operations. It's still a bit dangerous, but we're slowly getting ourselves together," a familiar voice called from behind as I surveyed my surroundings. "You disappear on a weeklong vacation, and don't even stop by to say hello on your return. I'm offended, Richard."

"Terissia!" I shouted, turning quickly on my heel to see the blue asari closing the distance between us. "It feels like it's been ages since I last saw you! Man, how about that crazy stuff going on over on Elysium?"

"The Batarians were bold, I'll give them that. I know you were there, Richard, because I only know one set of mercenaries in the galaxy who go by Onyx and Topaz. Wherever you two go, trouble seems to follow," Terissia replied curtly. "Where were you headed?"

"I was going to go for a run," I told her, pointing to my running shoes I brought from my universe. "Gotta stay in shape somehow, right?"

"Yes, I suppose so. Richard… are you okay? You seem off." Wow, that was out of the blue. Hehehe, get it? She's an asari, and that was out of the blue? No? I'll shut up now. "No offence intended, but something seems to be troubling you."

"Well, you already know the answer to that one, Terissia. I just got back from a colony being invaded by Batarians and helped the Alliance repel the mercenaries. I watched innocents die. You can't just walk back from that with the same level of 'okay-ness' that you had before," I shot back.

"No need to get hostile about it, Richard. I was merely inquiring about your wellbeing, which is obviously suffering greatly. Before, I was going to ask you to dinner to talk about it, but now, I'm _insisting_. And you don't want to see me _insist_ when I'm angry," the asari returned. Well, crap. There goes my run…

* * *

_Topaz Point of View_

"Look, Jack, this is _me_ we are talking about. The mission is a priority, but imagine how much the future will change if we can stop myself from messing with the Alliance! I know all of their ships and weapons, because I helped _build_ them! If we can take Cobalt out, then we have that much more of a chance at victory!" I exclaimed at the figure sitting down across from me.

"I understand, Toni, but look at it from my angle. You want to redeem yourself for the crimes you have committed, but do you think that killing yourself before you commit them will be enough? That'll just be another life lost, and more specifically, another life lost by _your_ hand. Imagine if we could sway Cobalt to our side, and the assets that he could provide for Cerberus and the future war effort!" the Illusive Man pointed out to Topaz, which immediately caused the mercenary to frown.

"Once I kill him, all the assets will still be transferable to your account through me. You're forgetting, I _am_ Cobalt, and I will be able to access _everything!_ Passwords, DNA tests, anything! Because _I created it all!_"

"We don't know the full extent on what effect it will have on _you_ though. Although this is a different universe, this is still the past form of you. What if when you kill Cobalt, you cease to exist? We don't have enough data to confirm that… Alright, Toni, I can tell that you won't be swayed. You may eliminate Cobalt with extreme prejudice on one condition."

"And what might that be?"

"You have to tell Onyx about your past." I immediately raised a hand to object, but he continued over my complaints. "We need the full trust of Richard Thorne for this plan to work, Toni, and you know it! I know I usually use deceit to get what I need, but that simply won't work here. He expects lies from me, but we need him to have complete trust in you. If you go to him with this before he finds out himself, we may be able to salvage this whole mess!"

"You do realize that when he figures out what I've done, he'll try to kill me. Richard is a good man, but damn, Jack, that kid and his _morals_ will end me before the Reapers will."

"That's a chance we need to be willing to take, Corporal. Get it done."

* * *

**A/N: Alright, I know this chapter didn't have much action in it, but it had to be done. We're beginning what I call the 'Alliance' arc. For those of you who read my old SI, which is now gone as of the creation of the reboot, I'll give you a hint: the _Myrmidon_. THAT'S ALL I'M SAYIN'! Also, we see a return of Terissia! She seems a bit underdeveloped, you say? Well, that is quite intentional! She will play a role soon, but what that will be shall remain unknown... I'm going to call it there, so I'll see you next time!  
**


	11. Betrayal

The Effect of One  
Chapter Eleven Reboot

**A/U: Over 2000 views! Woo! Another awesome milestone reached! Sorry I was gone the past few days, I was really bothered with how to write this. I'll explain more, but here's eleven.**

* * *

Terissia took me to a restaurant that served primarily asari food, but had a few human choices as well. It seemed relatively fancy, which made me feel dreadfully underdressed in my jet black hoodie and navy blue jeans. We were getting dirty looks, but since Terissia forked up the credits (I offered with my seemingly infinite funds, but she overloaded my omnitool before I could transfer the cash), they couldn't really do anything about it. "So, Terissia…" I started, taking a seat in the table the hostess selected for us. "Look, I appreciate the dinner and all, but really. This is something that I have to deal with on my own."

"No one should ever have to deal with something like this on their own, Richard. Topaz is a good guy and all, but talking to him is like… shouting at a brick wall. I figured you could use a friend that would listen without chastising your ability to perform 'in the line of duty…' of which I completely detest, you know. You're a nineteen year old kid, and that old man has dragged you into something that no one your age should fall into," she explained, grabbing the asari equivalent of a breadstick. I think they mostly ate fish or aquatic stuff, but it beats me.

"It's a necessary danger, Terissia, and Topaz is by no means forcing me to be here. If I wish, I could walk out that door as an entirely different man. I am doing this by choice… now I just have to _deal_ with that choice. Do I despise the loss of life, Teri? Of course I do, I'm not a mad man. But I also know that it must be done if we are to achieve our goals. And those goals, I assure you, are noble," I replied, taking a sip of my water that the waiter placed in front of me.

"Of that, I have no doubt. But… why you? All of this, Topaz can do on his own just as well. It seems to me that Topaz is running an operation here, and you are along for the ride as his accomplice," she returned. Before I could offer a reply, my omnitool beeped. _Message from Topaz: Urgent. _"Speak of the devil, right?"

"He can handle himself, I should be good here for about a half hour before I should check in. And, yes, this is Topaz's gig that he's running, but I have no doubt that, without me, he would've ended up suspended over a vat of poison or sharks like the vids on day one." I switched my omnitool to silent and turned back to her. "I can't tell you what we're doing on the account that you'd think I was insane and throw a glass of water at me or call the loony police, but I _promise_ that, even if I get myself killed doing this, it will prove to be beneficial in the long run. And not just for me."

"But how many more people have to _die_ before this proves to be beneficial to anyone other than you? I saw your account balance, Richard. Someone's paying you massive amounts of credits to do what you two are doing, and you expect me to just accept this as 'beneficial in the long run'?" she retorted, using air quotations to mimic what I said a few seconds ago.

"And so now you think that I murder people for money, then? You think that all that I do is contemplate, 'who should I kill today and for how much'? I don't expect you to understand. In fact, there isn't anyone in the god damn galaxy who'll understand, aside from Topaz!" I shouted back, letting my temper get the better of me. "I saw good people die on Elysium, Teri, because of greed and corruption, and now you sit here in front of me and accuse _me_ of doing the same."

"That's not what I-"

"That might not be what you meant, but that's what you said. And you know what? You can go along thinking that you're right, because that's what _everyone _does and what everyone _will do_. And when everything you know comes crashing down, you can watch as I am there to hold up what remains."

"Richard, listen!" Terissia shouted, slamming her fists on the table, causing me to stop in my tracks. "I don't know _what_ you and Topaz are doing, but this is not the young man I met outside the weapons shop!"

"That young man ceased to exist the second I pulled the trigger and ended that turian's life. You think I can just return to my home on Earth, seeing the things that I've seen? Remembering the things that I've done? You know what scares me, Teri? The fact that watching people die has become so normal that I can see it and not feel a thing. That horrifies me. The fact that you believe that I do it for money is just salt on the wound," I spat back, getting up from my seat. "I'm sorry, Teri, but this was a mistake. I told you that I could handle it, but you continued to poke at the wound."

* * *

Terissia said nothing as I left the table and approached the hostess. "I apologize if we have disrupted dinner hour. Here," I said, opening my omnitool, "is a bit of extra credits for your troubles." I continued to make my way out until I felt a hand on my shoulder stop me. "Teri-"

I turned around to a right hook nailing me in the nose. I stumbled backwards and out of the restaurant as someone let out a scream. I soon found out why, as the mysterious assailant pulled out a handgun. As I recovered, I did the same, pulling out my Judgment VI pistol that I snagged from the weapons rack on my way out of the flat. We locked eyes, leading ourselves to a good old fashioned Guatemalan Standoff.

"You pack one hell of a punch, friend," I told the man donned in black armor while rubbing my nose gingerly. "But if the situation was reversed, you'd be lucky to still have your jaw."

"Target: Onyx. Wanted by Cobalt for disrupting his operations over Elysium and on the Citadel. You know, he's offering half a million credits for you, dead? A full million for you alive. I was on a merry walk through the Ward when one million credits walks in front of me with an asari, wearing civilian clothing. What was I to do?" the assassin snickered.

"Well, then, you already made a critical mistake, because that asari that came with me has a gun pointed to your head," I shot back with a wide grin. Terissia was behind the assassin with a similar pistol to my own, resting directly on the base of his neck. "Rookie error, man."

"No, I think he made a good choice," came the soft voice of the asari from behind the enemy. "I think you were the one who made the rookie error, Richard Thorne." Terissia lowered the weapon and joined the assassin. "Befriending an asari from the streets, allowing her into your home… I bet you don't even know my last name."

"Terissia? You've got to be kidding me… I _saved _you from Cobalt! Now you're crawling back to him to claim a million credits? What makes you think he won't kill you for betraying his red sand warehouse locations?" I shouted back as Teri moved from behind the assassin to be shoulder to shoulder with him, both having their pistols pointed at me.

"You and Topaz are so dense, Richard… I never stopped working for Cobalt. How easy it was to woo the new human on the block with a false sob story. Then, to seal the deal, I gave you the location of the red sand warehouse. I had to earn your trust somehow. Now look at you, cornered like a wild animal," she cooed, trying to taunt me. And it was working.

"But… why?" I stammered, slowly losing the will to fight as I stared down the two gun barrels. "You at least owe me that, Teri. Why?"

"Topaz. You idiots were stupid enough to show up on the Kithoi Ward with massive amounts of credits, armor, and weapons without Cobalt detecting a thing. To put it lightly, it peaked his interest. The fact that Cobalt and Topaz share the same DNA was merely a bonus mystery."

"I… I don't understand…"

"You don't have to. All you have to do is come with us to Cobalt, where we will negotiate a deal with Topaz for your release. Then we put a bullet in your skull and claim our prize," the asari laughed, moving closer. "This was almost too easy. After hearing about you on Elysium, I thought you'd put up a fight. Turns out that you can't even stomach _death_."

"Oh, I think you'd be surprised, Terissia," I shot back, renewing my will to fight. This wasn't Terissia. Oh, not even close. This asari… _bitch_ was just another one of Cobalt's lackeys. And I had been too blind to see otherwise. "I think I've still got a trick or two up my sleeve."

"We know about your biotics, Richard, and we prepared. You are standing in an Element Zero Counteraction Shield. Biotics won't work in here, regardless of whatever flashy color you decide to wield it as," she retorted snidely.

"Normally, that'd be worrying. But… well, I guess I can just show you." Her smile disappeared as I lifted a hand up and projected a reapari wave around the neck of the assassin, lifting him in the air. He frantically scratched at the invisible force, unable to breathe. "You see, my biotics don't _use_ eezo. Guess you didn't do your research as well as you thought." To further prove the point, I closed my hand into a fist, causing the reapari wave around his neck to collapse inwards. The sickening sound of his neck bones breaking caused even Terissia to flinch. "And death… well, I think I can stomach it for the time being."

Teri fired several rounds at me, and one impacted my shields. The light weight shield generator could only take two shots before it collapsed, so I immediately erected a reapari barrier in front of me to protect myself from the oncoming storm of bullets.

"You thought this would be easy, huh? A simple execution!" I taunted from behind my shield. "Sorry to burst your bubble, babes, but I'm not going anywhere without a fight! You'll just have to claim the five hundred k!"

"You think that this changes things? We prepared for something like this! Several assault teams are just waiting for my mark, and they'll come in here and rip you to _shreds_!" the asari hissed at me while firing rounds into my shield. We were both interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat.

"Well, you _had_ several assault teams waiting for your mark. You don't anymore," a familiar voice called out from behind me. "You should know by now, Terissia, that _Cobalt _does not like to be betrayed. And when Cobalt gets betrayed, he becomes angry." The white and orange armor-clad mercenary walked up as Terissia desperately fired rounds into his neigh impenetrable shields. "And an angry crimelord isn't someone you want to run into, _Terissia."_

"What… what are you? You can't be real!"

"You picked the wrong side, asari. We welcomed you into our lives, and you spat on us. I don't want to know why, I don't want to hear any reasons or excuses. For all I care, he made you do this at gun point. Let me tell you something, _Terissia_. Once upon a time, there was an asari who thought she could turn my identity over to the Shadow Broker and get away with it. She managed to accomplish neither. When I found out, I was mad. Oh, I was _so_ mad." As Topaz spoke, he walked closer and closer, pulling out a large combat knife. "So I had my men capture her. Then, I cut her hands off and sealed the wounds with medigel. Being _disarmed_, I tossed her to my varren. You've seen my varren, haven't you? Oh, how I prized my varren… Needless to say, she never thought about betraying me again."

"Topaz is Cobalt…?" I muttered, but he was too enraged to hear me. He backed her into a wall, where she tried to squirm from his grasp, but was unable to do so.

"However, this time… I'm not feeling so generous. You tried to kill the one thing in this universe that matters… Richard, over there? He's going to save the god damn galaxy from annihilation! Killing him would lead to the mass extinction of trillions of people. Are you prepared to shoulder that costs? Well, tell me, Teri! ARE YOU?!"

"Please… Richard, please! Stop him! PLEASE!" Terissia was pleading as Topaz delicately dragged the tip of his knife across her cheek.

"Topaz…" I started, looking at the asari in the eyes as she began to silently sob. "Make it fast. No need to drag this out longer than it's already gone."

"Just because you said so, I'll make it swift. But very painful." As I walked away from the outside of the restaurant, the brief shrieks of excruciating pain caused me to cringe slightly. She got what she deserved. All that remained was Cobalt himself. Or, rather, himself(s).

* * *

Terissia… One of Cobalt's Agents… Well, things were going _too_ well, I suppose. I got back to the flat ten or so minutes before Topaz did, but he didn't say anything when he arrived. He went straight into his room and locked the door. Shortly after, I heard what sounded like Topaz tearing the room apart. "HOW THE FUCK COULD I LET THIS HAPPEN?!" he shouted over the destruction he was causing.

Meanwhile, I was having a similar crisis. Topaz, Terissia, and Shepard were the only friends I had made since my arrival here, and one was just forced to kill the other for betraying us to our enemy. How could I be so stupid, though? I've seen pictures of Cobalt, and I saw Topaz's face on a daily basis! I never made the connection… His face was different enough to cause no immediate recognition unless you saw them side by side. But… it had been nearly half a year in this universe! How the hell had I not noticed?!

After about an hour, Topaz finally quieted down and came out of his now-destroyed room. "You weren't supposed to find out like that... We need to have a talk, Thorne. There's a lot I need to explain."

"Topaz-"

"JUST… listen to me… Ten years ago, it was the year 2176 for me. This year. My company, Cobalt Industries, was sky rocketing as I got more and more contracts with the Alliance. I… began to abuse my wealth. Substantially. I made terrible mistakes, caused terrible things to happen… Things that I will never be able to atone for."

"Did you help attack Elysium?"

"Unfortunately, I did. I worked with Brutus a lot, which is how I knew how to manipulate him. In my universe, the Alliance was unable to fight the combined might of our ships. The entire planet fell, and it was ripe for the picking. And I took my share of the profits…"

"But-"

"Let me finish, damn it! In 2178, while on a business meeting on Torfan, the moon was attacked by the Alliance. They captured me, put me on display for the whole of the Alliance populations to see. The Butcher of Elysium, they called me. And that's what I was. A murderer. Shortly after, Cerberus decided that I was useful to them. They busted me out, trained me among their best, and prepared me for the ultimate trial. In 2186, after we lost the Reaper War, I was chosen to be the salvation of organic life. Why me, I'll never know. But I was chosen to train _you_."

"So what is this, then? You think helping me will redeem yourself from all of the lives you've ruined, all the families you've destroyed? You think that, because you change things here, that what you did _doesn't count?!_" I shouted, growing furious. "You _lied_ to me again! Who the hell can I trust? Huh?! Who can I depend on so I don't go off the deep end? Right now, all I've got is Shepard! And she's hell knows where, training to become an N7 agent! So if you're here to achieve redemption-"

"_I DON'T WANT REDEMPTION!_" Topaz shot back, once again becoming enraged. "I can't do anything to make up for what I've done. Ever. Not even training the man who will save the universe with the greatest hero ever known will be enough! But now, I have a chance to make sure that the people here don't suffer because of me!"

"You want to kill yourself…" I whispered quietly, but just loud enough for him to hear. "You want to kill yourself, but you can't, because that would be the easy way out… So instead, you want to kill the man responsible, which is _still you…_"

"And when Torfan comes around, I'll make sure that Cerberus never saves my sorry ass from prison. I won't even let the Alliance capture him. I will make _sure_ that I never get the chance to redeem myself like I have been granted by the Illusive Man. Because I don't deserve that chance."

"Topaz, I…" I stammered quietly. "I'm sorry, but we can't carry on like this. Tomorrow, I'm going to a meeting with an Alliance Contractor and see what he's offering. I honestly don't know what to do, but all of these _lies_ are going to get one of us killed. I just lost a friend today, so please… don't make me lose two."

"Good night, Richard. Get some rest. I have to report to the Illusive Man."

* * *

"Did you tell him?"

"Yes… not in the way I wanted to. I was reckless, allowing that asari to learn as much as she did. I should have known… she never told us _anything_ about herself, and I was stupid enough to overlook that. But, yes, he knows. Tomorrow, he's going to see what the Alliance is offering him," Topaz replied solemnly.

"Good. I had my agents within the Alliance secure him a job offer as a Private Contractor. I figured that, once he found out, you two would need some time away from each other. So he will accept the offer, join the crew of the _SSV Myrmidon_, and be with them during the duration of their next assignment. It should last approximately one year, and it should be just a simple tour around Alliance space bordering the Perseus Veil. The Geth shouldn't pose a threat until 2183, so he'll be safe."

"And what will I do?"

"Have you made any progress on Blackhand?" the Illusive Man asked.

"Yes, but you know I can't tell you the details. If you found out any portion of the plan, we'd have to start all over."

"I realize this, I was merely checking upon its current state. It needs to be finished by the time Commander Shepard fights the Battle of the Citadel," the Illusive Man told Topaz.

"It will be done. Of that, I have no doubt."

"Good. Keep an eye on Richard, even when he leaves. Not in person, just through his omnitool. He should be safe, but we know from experience that it is never good to leave these kinds of things up to chance," the Illusive Man replied.

"Of course, Jack. I'm going to get things ready for his departure… I'll report back to you about whether the offer was accepted or not. I would wish you 'sweet dreams,' but I'm pretty sure that you don't sleep, you inhuman bastard."

"Good night, Toni."

* * *

**A/U: And there you go. This chapter was unbelievably hard to write, and I still don't think I got it right. I knew what I wanted to do with Terissia since I introduced her, but it's so much easier speculating ideas than putting them on paper. I think I got as close as I could with it, but don't be surprised if I update it or something (the general concept won't change, but how it's written might). Next chapter, Richard joins the Alliance as a Contractor and goes to his new post! And, for those who know about the _Myrmidon _(don't spoil it, jeesh), you know that things go down on that ship. So, I'm going to call it a night and get some freaking sleep. As usual, review, follow, and favorite! Night!**


	12. Instructor Thorne

The Effect of One  
Chapter Twelve Reboot

**A/N: Here's chapter twelve! And here is where we officially start the 'Alliance Arc' and begin the adventures of the _SSV Myrmidon_! This should take place for around a year (story time) and begin leading up to the Raid on Torfan.  
**

**Also, I figured I should do a bit of a summary for what's happened so far. I mostly did this for me to help make sure the story seems linear, but I figured I might as well post it if people are getting confused.**

**October, 2175: **Richard Thorne arrives in the Mass Effect Universe. He gains his powers and begins working with Topaz to enhance them. They also meet the asari, Terissia. The duo also begin investigating the actions of Toni 'Cobalt' Markham, leading to the discovery and raid of the Red Sand Warehouse on the Kithoi Ward.**  
November (2175) - January (2176): **Richard recovers from his wounds in the Red Sand Warehouse. While recuperating, he remembers that the Skyllian Blitz is going to occur soon. The two prepare for the inevitable raid on the human colony world.**  
February, 2176: **Richard and Topaz go to Elysium, where our hero makes the first contact with Lieutenant Amelia Shepard. The raid takes place, and the Alliance is able to repel the invaders after Topaz turns the enemy fleet against each other. Once back on the Citadel, Richard and Topaz are betrayed by Terissia, who reveals that she works for Cobalt and tries to capture Richard. Topaz stops her, but in the process, Richard figures out that Topaz is Cobalt from the future. Unable to work with him, Richard joins the Alliance as a Private Contractor aboard the _SSV Myrmidon. _

**I think I'll do these small timeline things at the beginning every time I finish a story arc. If you don't care for them, just scroll past them, no harm done. Anyway, here's chapter twelve!**

* * *

The next morning, I didn't even see Topaz when I got up. He was probably avoiding me or something, which was fine with me to be honest. I didn't want to see him as much as he didn't want to see me. Torfan was still in a little more than two years, and spending that time with a malevolent former-crimelord isn't really what I fancy. While preparing for my meeting with the Lead Alliance Contractor, a man named Zach Orion, I made myself a pitiful breakfast of cold pizza and a bottle of flat coca cola. Living the dream, right?

My mind was still on Terissia, I realized while biting into the cold pepperonis. I had included her in my list of friends that I've made since my arrival in this universe, and I barely knew her. Other than she used to work for Cobalt, which turned out to be false anyway, all I knew about her was her first name and where she supposedly lived. I glanced up at the clock and saw that it was noon. Two hours before my meeting with Orion. Yeah, I had time.

I threw on the armor that I had painted last time but never gotten to use. I didn't have any proper clothing to wear to the meeting, so I might as well show them my stuff. So sue me for not buying fancy garb to wear to a meeting with Alliance Officials who, until Shepard straightened them out, thought I was a Terminus Mercenary. I'm only human. I grabbed my Terminator and my Armageddon just in case some of Cobalt's goons were scoping the place out, activated my shields, and put my monomolecular blade on my back. I need a name for that thing, because _monomolecular blade_ is one hell of a mouthful.

I went on a jog towards where Terissia's supposed home was, hoping to find some sanity in this mess. Perhaps there was something in there that told me a bit more about _her_. When I got there, I realized that this was an apartment complex, and I had no idea which one she stayed in. I walked up to the first door, 1-A, and pounded on the door. It quickly opened to reveal a turian wearing engineering clothing. "Yeah, human? Look, make this quick, because I've got to head to work soon."

"A friend of mine, named Terissia, lives here, but she forgot to tell me which room, and she's not answering her omnitool. I was wondering if you happened to know which apartment she stayed in," I asked him quickly.

"Terissia, that asari? I haven't seen her since yesterday, but she might be home. She lives up in 3-C. Seems nice enough, but never really interacts with anyone else in the complex," he told me. I thanked him for his time and ran quickly up the stairs until I reached the third level. I found the apartment with relative ease, and was unsurprised to find it locked. I brought up my hacking interface and began to run codes into the door until it granted me access.

The first thing I thought when I entered the room was that it was so… _clean_. The entire room was spotless; no signs of a criminal warlord's assistant living here. I continued searching the room, but everything was too… perfect. The fridge wasn't even stocked with food, human or asari. I shook my head and made my way towards the bedroom. The bedroom was a far cry from the front room and kitchen; various datapads and documents were strewn about. But what caught me off guard was the huge web-diagram thing that decorated one of the walls. Pictures of places I recognized all too well were stapled to the wall, and two very similar individuals were constant in every single one. Topaz and Cobalt.

She was beyond committed to her job; she was obsessed. There was a picture of every location we've been to, from the gun shop where we met her to the Elysium War Museum. What I was staring at was an exact timeline of my life in this universe from the past six months. And I thought the Illusive Man was creepy…

I made my way to the closet, expecting to find a horde of corpses or something. It was relatively innocent, containing mostly clothes and stuff. There was a huge patch of wall that didn't match the color of the rest of it, so I knocked on it lightly. Hollow, just as I expected. I pried it away from the rest of the wall to find a huge arsenal of weapons, varying from the heaviest sniper rifles to the lightest handguns. It was as if she was preparing for a siege. None of them interested me, so I just fit the oddly colored wall back into place for the next resident to find.

I was making my way back to the front room when I discovered an audio log on the bedside nightstand. Picking it up and pressing play, I began to hear the voice of Terissia come out of the speakers.

_Day Seven: The turian that Cobalt had sent to report to me foolishly revealed himself to Thorne. Of course, Thorne thought he was going to try his luck assaulting me again, so he took matters into his own hands. The result wasn't pretty. The turian had gotten himself shot while trying to kill the human child. I ran back downstairs to find Thorne literally weeping over the corpse, as if this was his first kill. In fact, I have no doubts that that's exactly what that was. Pathetic. I will feel no remorse in ending his pitiful existence once Cobalt deems him no longer useful._

I quickly turned off the recording and put it back on the nightstand. Terissia was never a friend of mine, and I had to get used to the fact that these were the words of the traitorous asari who was willing to give me up to the crimelord that had paid her salary. Giving a last glance over the rest of the apartment, I found nothing of interest and quietly left through the front door.

* * *

_"Welcome to the Citadel Embassies: Richard Thorne. If you require directions, please consult a nearby Virtual Intelligence Access Terminal located at various stations throughout the Zakera Ward. Enjoy your stay!"_

I waved the VI off as I got out of the sky-car that I had rented to get to the other ward. As I looked over my new surroundings, the place looked almost the exact same as the way the game portrayed it. Congrats to BioWare for having such great receptors to 'psychological debris.' I was making my way over to the Human Embassies, where the Alliance Contractor Office was located, when two N7 soldiers stopped me. "We can't let you in with those weapons, sir. Please, relinquish them, and we will keep them safe until your business has been dealt with," the first one told me. Oh, yeah! Time to steal one of Shepard's lines!

"I'll relinquish a bullet. Where do you want it?" I shot back, gaining imaginary renegade points in my head. How many people can say that they _honestly_ quoted the galaxy's greatest hero seven years before they said what you quoted?

"If you don't give us your weapons, kid, we can't let you into the Embassy. It's the rules, I don't make them. If I wanted to get yelled at by a smartass, I would've just gone to Ambassador Udina and asked for a raise." A man wearing what appeared to be a blue naval uniform quickly saw us and ran over to diffuse the situation.

"Lieutenant, he's with me. I'm clearing him and his weapons for a meeting regarding Alliance Contracting. He is here on _my _request." The two N7 guards nodded and went back to their positions as I joined who I could only assume was Zachary Orion. "Onyx, when you arrive, you like to do so in style! And, let me tell you, I can count how many people spoke like that to an N7 soldier and didn't get a bullet in the kneecap on one hand!"

"Great. Look, I'm here because of the email you sent to me, Orion. You said you had an offer to work with the Alliance, and… well, I could use the community service hours," I told him as we made our way over to the Contractor's Office.

"Believe me, it is my pleasure. I can't tell you how many reports we had to fill out about how two mercenaries were able to nearly singlehandedly save Elysium from the raid. Some are calling you heroes, even going so far as to recommend you the Star of Terra. Lieutenant Shepard had words of very high praise to say about your combat prowess, so we wanted to see if you were willing to work for the Alliance officially," Zachary Orion explained when we got into his office. "First and foremost, I'd like to see if you have any information regarding the whereabouts of Batarian or Human survivors of the raiding party."

"There were no survivors, Orion. Both fleets were completely devastated. Topaz told me that none of either fleets were able to escape when they opened fire on each other. And when the Alliance came, that just sealed the deal. _However_," I said, considering my options. The Raid on Torfan would happen in 2178, but things had changed so dramatically from the original plot that who knows what could happen. This way, I could seal the deal. "The ones responsible for organizing the attack, including the human crimelord Cobalt, will be on Torfan in the year 2178. The exact date is unknown to me, but sending in a listening crew to monitor the moon should narrow it down."

"I'll alert Alliance Officials as soon as I can, and I'll make sure that they don't jump the gun on this one. Now that that's out of the way, I'd like to discuss a possible contract with you. Would you be interested in serving on a ship?" Orion asked.

"As long as I get to participate in the raid on Torfan, I honestly don't care. I've seen enough excitement for quite awhile, so getting some R&R might be good for me. Why? What did you have in mind?"

"If you want R&R, then I've got just the thing. The _SSV Myrmidon_ is a ship about to go on tour near the Perseus Veil, just as a precaution for the outer colonies. It mostly will just patrol the area, make sure that the nearby colonies don't get raided by bandits or Geth alike. It's one of the quieter posts that we send crews to after they've fought in combat. The _Myrmidon_ was in the battle over Elysium, so I'm sure you'll have much to talk about," Orion laughed, tapping away at his computer. "They need a resident biotic who can provide an example for the younger ones to follow. From what I've heard, you fit the bill."

"And how long will I be stationed there?"

"The post usually lasts around six months to a year, depending on the service the ship had while it was in combat. Then, they'll return for new orders. I must also let you know that, since you aren't technically an Alliance soldier, you can leave whenever you like as long as you find transport. You won't get paid after you leave, although judging by your account balance, that isn't a problem, is it?"

"I'll accept those terms, Orion. When do I board?" I asked the Contractor.

"Currently, the _Myrmidon_ is stationed over Earth for shore leave. A lot of the crew has family there, so they decided to visit the birthplace of humanity. They're discharging their core over the Manhattan Space Port as we speak, so they should be good to go in a couple of days. I can get you transport to New York in as little as two hours, if you'd like. Is there anyone you'd like to say goodbye to on the Citadel before you leave?"

"I've got a few things to collect before I go, but other than that, I've got nothing else to do. Get me a ticket on that transport, and I'll be back here in an hour," I answered, getting up from my seat and making my way towards the door.

"Again, it was very nice to meet you, Onyx. I'll be sure to confirm the intel you gave us about Torfan and prevent the Alliance from jumping the gun on the invasion. You've done us a great service, and I expect much more to come from you. Welcome to the Alliance."

* * *

I came back to the flat to find it in the same state as when I left it: completely empty. I had no idea where Topaz had gone, but it didn't matter. This worked out for the better, because if he knew what I was doing, he'd probably try to stop me. I typed up a quick message on my omnitool, telling him about the offer the Alliance made me and how I had accepted it. By the time I had grabbed all of my possessions, there was still no reply.

I carried a duffle bag which held all of my clothing that I would wear outside of my armor, a spare omnitool, and a pistol. All of my other guns, the Terminator and Armageddon, were on my back along with my sword. Any mods that I might need for my weapons were also thrown in with the rest of my stuff. I also couldn't forget the reapari energy cells I wound need to consume in order to maintain my powers. After a quick look over the rest of the house, I confirmed that I didn't need anything else. I threw my bag over my shoulder and left the flat, locking the door behind me.

I started to jog steadily towards the nearest transit station so I could go to the Zakera Ward. After ordering a car, I sat and waited for it to arrive. "You think you can get rid of me that easily, Thorne?"

"I was starting to think so, Topaz. It was beginning to feel like you were attempting to avoid me." We stared at each other for a few seconds until his eyes flicked to my bag. "You can't stop me, Topaz. I'm going."

"I know. But that doesn't mean I can't say goodbye, right?" He sighed and put a hand on my shoulder. "We've only been here for a short six months, but I've already seen you grow into a powerful soldier. The Alliance will be lucky to have you. All I ask, Richard, is that you remember me not as Cobalt, but as Topaz. Not as the crimelord, but as the man who wanted to stop the Reapers."

"I think I can agree to those terms. Look, this isn't goodbye forever, okay? I just need some… time to think. I have no doubt that, in two years when Torfan rolls around, we'll be right back to where we were before Terissia fucked everything up." The car showed up behind me, and I picked up my bag to get in. "Just one year, okay?"

"I'm holding you to that. I'll haul your ass off whatever station you get posted at, no matter how many Alliance soldiers try to shoot me for it."

"I have no doubt you will, Topaz."

* * *

"And there he is! Captain, this is the man I've been telling you about! Onyx-"

"Please, call me Richard. That is my name, after all," I interrupted Orion, setting down my bag. "Nice to meet you, Captain…"

"Kingston. Anthony Kingston. So you're the savior of Elysium, unless Zach here exaggerated these claims. It'll be a pleasure to have you on board my ship. Our last resident biotic joined the relief force on Elysium, so you'll be a great help keeping our biotics in shape," the man replied. He was of a decent height, if a bit shorter than me, and wearing the standard naval uniform. "We'll be going on the Perseus Veil tour in about a week, once the soldiers finish connecting with their families. The ship is stationed over Manhattan, so you'll have plenty of sights to see while we're waiting."

"It's been awhile since I've been to the Big Apple. Not even sure if they still call it that," I laughed quietly. "Are you sure that your crew will be okay with working with a mercenary? I mean, for an hour or two, I was Alliance Most Wanted. Are we going to have any problems, or…"

"I assure you, when I told my crew that Onyx was going to be our new resident biotic, half of them called me out for being a liar on the spot. While the marines were preparing to land on the colony, they watched the vids of the Siege of New Athens City Hall. You and Lieutenant Amelia Shepard are quite the military icons right now."

"Just doing my job, Captain. Now, not to be rude, but I believe we have a transport to catch, am I right, Kingston?" I asked, picking up my bags. "Nice doing business with you, Orion, and thanks for all of your help. I hope we don't have to go through customs, Captain, because I think we might get held up for quite awhile as they search me."

"Don't worry, the Alliance understands that most Contractors are former mercenaries, so they allow the commander of the ship they're serving on to pass them through. Omnitool scans have already told me that you don't have any kind of explosives on you, so that'll be good enough for them," he replied while tapping away at his omnitool. "Although… you do appear to have a large quantity of energy emanating from the bag. Care to explain?"

I pulled out a small container of Reapari Energy and showed it to the Captain. "This is what I use to power my blade, since it's monomolecular. I just brought some extra power cells to make sure that I don't run out while on vacation," I told him. He seemed to buy it and handed it back to me.

"Alright, then you should be good to go. While on board the _Myrmidon,_ your official title will be Instructor. The biotics on board number at five, so you should be able to handle that on your own. Just… make sure that you don't blow a hole in the hull of the ship, okay?"

"You got it, Kingston."

* * *

**A/N: And the Alliance Story Arc begins! Those who read my old SI should have some kind of idea of what'll happen. Not much else to say other than that chapter twelve is how far I got with my old SI before I scrapped it (I'm not including the updates), so that's a milestone for myself. Anyway, I'll see you guys soon enough!**


	13. The Myrmidon

The Effect of One  
Chapter Thirteen Reboot

**A/N: There's a lot of OC's that I introduce in this chapter, as we meet the entire crew of the _Myrmidon. _Only a few will be of MAJOR importance, but we'll be seeing a lot of these new fellas for awhile now!**

* * *

New York City. Once the pinnacle of human culture, always the pinnacle of human culture. Even aliens flocked to the City that Never Sleeps because of its legendary status among the Alliance. If Earth was the Jewel of the Alliance, than New York City was the platinum-plated ring that it sat upon. I've visited the Big Apple before and, being a 'cowboy from the west,' I was enthralled by the towering spires. Now, I felt the same emotions I felt all those years again.

As I left the space port and entered the streets of the city, I couldn't help but realize that, while technology had obviously jumped forward immensely, the city itself largely remained the same. The only major difference was the addition of the Sky Ways, which allowed sky-cars to travel above the old streets. Along the sidewalks, the old stereotypical New York street vendors remained, much to my satisfaction. I made it a point to grab a good, old fashion chilly dog the second I could.

As soon as I took a bite into my hot dog, my omnitool began to ring with the tone I set for urgent messages. I grumbled to myself, mumbling about how there was never a dull moment… I pulled up the message, and it told me that Captain Kingston had gathered a few members of the crew, and they were meeting at a restaurant in the heart of the city and had asked if I wanted to join them. I sent a quick reply, got the location of the restaurant, and began to jog in the direction my HUD told me to go.

I got there in about fifteen minutes and found that they had already found a table and left a chair open for me to sit in. "Ah, glad you could make it, Richard. Want to know why I like this guy, Lieutenant? Because he shows up to everything in his armor. Like, right now, we could be attacked by… _giant space squid_, and this guy would be at the front of the resistance."

"Better be careful, Captain, don't want to jinx it," I laughed weakly, trying to ignore the fact that what he said would actually occur in nine years. "Actually, my clothes are in my bag, and I dropped that off at the ship before I left the space port. So… come on then, you all know me, but I haven't the slightest clue who you are. Names, all around."

"Lieutenant Jackson Cornelius, XO of the _SSV Myrmidon_, and I also keep the jarheads in line before missions," the man to the right of Kingston told me, extending a hand. I met it and shook with an equal grip. "Most of the guys just call me Jacinto, 'cause that was the name of my grandfather who fought in the First Contact War. He had the highest amount of turian kills throughout the entire conflict, so he's kind of a legend among the Alliance. I must say, I figured that the Hero of Elysium would've been a bit… older."

"No offense taken, Jacinto. And is that what they're calling me, now?" Jacinto nodded with a wide grin on his face. "I'd rather they didn't. I just joined Shepard and did what anyone would've. I have no idea why the fact that I'm nineteen is so odd to some. And you?" I said, looking to the next soldier seated. He appeared to be a bit nervous, which caused me to laugh. "C'mon, man, I don't bite."

"S…sorry, sir. It's just… we saw you fighting in New Athens, and… well, you're kind of a legend among our crew. I'm Private McGraw, sir, and it truly is an honor to meet you."

"Cut the pleasantries, McGraw, I don't roll that way. To you, I'm either Richard or Thorne, I go by both. And I'll bet the Alliance didn't think the same way when they put the huge bounty on my head, eh?"

"Actually, the entire crew froze for a few moments until Lieutenant Shepard cleared things up," the third soldier said. "Doctor Gregory, at your service. Although the marines tend to call me Greg for short. I make sure that the people on board don't die, in case you didn't know what Doctor meant."

"Well, Doc, I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to patch me up after missions, considering I tend to be a bit of a bullet magnet. Well, nice to meet you three, but I think it's time we get some grub, no? _Please _tell me this place serves good old fashioned American steak, damn it!" I laughed, looking at the menu. "Oh, there it is. Under 'For Those without Taste Buds…'"

"So, Richard, if you don't mind me asking…" McGraw started, but then began to shy off a bit. "What happened to Topaz? From what we gathered, you two were pretty close."

"Topaz had something he had to take care of," I lied, putting the menu down. "We should be getting back together for a reunion with the bastards who orchestrated the Skyllian Blitz when we find them. You are all _welcome_ to join us."

"The Skyllian Blitz?" Kingston asked.

"Well, the Alliance took too long coming up with what to call that whole disaster, so I took it upon myself to give it a name. I felt like the Skyllian Blitz was a decent name," I quickly told them, trying to cover my tracks. I guess the Alliance hadn't come up with a name for it yet…

"Interesting… well, enough about that nonsense, let's order us some food! Tomorrow will be our last day in New York, and we leave for the space bordering the Perseus Veil the next day. Let's enjoy this beacon of human endurance while we can!"

* * *

We finished our meals and went to pay, but the owner of the restaurant said that he heard our conversations about how I had fought on Elysium and insisted that it was on the house. The Captain and I personally thanked him and made our way out of the restaurant, back on to the streets of New York. "I would say we should head to a bar, but half of us here aren't of age!" Kingston laughed while we strolled down the sidewalk.

"I may be nineteen years old, but I'd bet I have a hell of a lot more stories than you, Captain," I shot back jokingly. "I think I'll head back to the ship and get settled in. This armor may look comfortable, but it certainly doesn't feel that way."

"Aye, I've got a bit more shopping to do in terms of stocks for the ship," Kingston told us as we neared the spaceport. "Wouldn't want to run out of medigel in the middle of the Perseus Veil, would we?"

"I'm more concerned about Chef's cooking, sir," McGraw laughed quietly. "When we're low on supplies, I swear, he uses old combat boots to season our already rubbery meatloaf…"

"Well, we can't have that, can we? You get to work on that, Captain, and I'll go with McGraw to the ship. He can show me around and introduce me to the rest of the crew, right, buddy?" I scoffed, slapping the Private on the shoulder. He went a bit rigid when my hand hit him lightly. "Calm down, Private. I'm not going to toss you around like a ragdoll with my unparalleled biotics" I said, flexing my arm.

"I think he's got a bit of a man-crush on you, Thorne," Jacinto joked, causing Captain Kingston to sputter water from his mouth while he was mid-drink. "I'll go with the Captain, as I don't want him spending our supply budget completely on video games and Coca Cola."

"It was a fun first few weeks, but when we ran out of soda and the games got repetitive, we were on the verge of starving. In the last few days, I had to pump everyone's stomach because we had to resort to using… less than adequate ingredients," Doc laughed, causing Kingston to frown.

"It never got _that_ bad, Greg. But you do have a good point, I won't be doing that again," Kingston told him. I burst into laughter, and Jacinto joined me. "Go ahead, laugh it up, new guy. We'll see who's laughing when the marines figure out what they want to do to haze you."

"I'd like to see them lay a hand on me," I interjected, still laughing. "Well, come on, McGraw, Doc. I've got a few things I've got to set up when I get there. Captain, where shall my quarters be?"

"Our last resident biotic stayed with the Doc, because we've got an unused bunk in there. Our weapons master, Sergeant Crawford, has offered to clear some of his projects off of the bunks in the armory that remain unused, so if you want to sleep next to a large amount of experimental explosives, be my guest," Kingston replied.

"Living life on the edge! _I like it_!" I scoffed while doing a fist pump. "I'll see what I've got when we get there. I don't expect luxurious accommodations, and I don't think the marines will take to me very well if I get better treatment." We continued walking down the street for a couple blocks, talking about our mission in the Perseus Veil. We were going to fly around and search for any threatening debris from the Geth worlds that might float into outer colonies. If we happen to find any, we blow it up. Occasionally, we'll stop at the colonies to discharge and get some shore leave, but for… oh, I'd say 85% of the tour will be on the ship.

This ship better be damn cool.

* * *

The doors to the _Myrmidon_ slid open to reveal the CIC with galactic map in the center, just like every other frigate in the Alliance military. People were hard at work, but jumped up to salute the Captain when the VI announced that the CO had returned. "At ease. Jace, McGraw, to your posts. Doc, check on Darcy and, for God's sake, make sure he takes that biotic supplement!" The two marines saluted, and the Doc just kinda sauntered off without another word. "Come, meet our pilot! He's quite the character, but a bit of a smartass… don't tell him I said that." Just as he said that, a glowing red orb floated down from the ceiling, causing Kingston to curse.

_"I heard that, Kingston," _came a gruff voice over the intercom. _"I hijacked the VI communications systems. I can hear everything on the ship. You might want to talk to Greene and Lydia about fraternization again."_

"Again?! Those two are like rabbits, I swear… Thanks, Carbine, for the heads up. I'm sending up our newest passenger, Richard Thorne. Try not to scare him off, will ya?" Kingston called to no particular direction.

_"Oh yeah? I'd guess that scaring off the hero of Elysium would be one hell of a feat. Let me give it a shot, come on up, Thorne," _Carbine called from the cockpit. The VI avatar disappeared, and I passed the galactic map and went up to meet the pilot. "Greetings, milord, how dost thou fare this fine space-day?"

"Kingston was right, you are a bit of a smartass," I replied, patting him on the shoulder. "So, I'm just going to jump straight to it. When do I get to fly this ship?"

"You know how to fly?"

"Not in the slightest," I laughed. "Where's the copilot? There's two seats here, and I only see one pilot." I jumped into the second seat and looked at all of the complicated controls and monitors. "Wow, this is one hell of a setup. Where's the stereo?"

"You ask a lot of questions, kid." Oh, great. Now I've got the pilot calling me kid! "As for the copilot, he's currently on Elysium with our old resident biotic, Krauss. They wanted to stay behind to help, and they needed some pilots to transport supplies across the planet. So now it's just me. As for the stereo…" Carbine flicked his hand across the terminal and brought up a playlist. Techno music flooded the cockpit, and I immediately cringed.

"No, no, no. Please don't tell me that you _actually_ listen to this crap!" I shouted at him, covering my face in disgust.

"This is the Citadel Public Radio. If you would _hold on_, I'll pull up my personal playlist and we can rock out to some oldies." He tapped the terminal a few more times with various screens whizzing about before I can even get a chance to see what they say. "Ah, here we are." The techno that previously caused my ears to bleed was replaced with a song even I could remember. "Beast and the Harlot, Avenged Sevenfold!"

"That's more like it! I haven't heard anyone listening to some actual _music_ in quite some time! Nice to know that someone actually has taste in music here! During my time on the Citadel, the constant wubs from the night clubs are permanently imprinted into my head."

"I'm surprised that you recognize the song and band. Not many people listen to this stuff anymore, and it's a damn shame." The music dimmed when the VI appeared with a message. "Well, looks like I've got to start launch prep. Just do a quick once-over for all of the systems and make sure we don't explode all over NYC. I'll catch you around, Thorne."

"And the same to you, Carbine," I reply while climbing out of the co-pilot seat. Kingston returned to CIC with who I could only assume was Greene and Lydia that Carbine mentioned upon my arrival. "I'm going to head to the armory, Kingston, and meet this Crawford. Just let me know if you need anything, alright?"

"You got it, kid." God damn it! Everyone is calling me kid now! C'mon, I'm not _that_ young! Well… okay, maybe I am… But that doesn't mean everyone can call me that! Even Shepard, who's only three years older than I am, calls me kid! Not cool!

I ignored his comment and made my way over to the elevator. Okay, let's see… first floor, Captain's Quarters… second floor, CIC… third floor, Crew Quarters… fourth floor, recreation and showers… fifth floor, engineering… ah! Of course it's the last one… Shuttle Bay and Armory. I push the button and _thus _begins the elevator ride of eternal boredom. I'd have to get used to these… I'll have to use them for the next few years aboard the _Normandy_.

The elevator door slid open to reveal a casually dressed solder working on a modification bench. "Kingston, I told you, the Lancers won't be combat ready until tomorrow, so stop riding my-" He turned to me as I walked up to the bench he was working on. "Well, you must be Thorne! Nice to meet ya, mate!" Crawford exclaimed with an apparent Australian accent.

"Sergeant Crawford, I presume?" I asked, extending a hand that was quickly met by the soldier. "Kingston told me that I might be bunking with you down here in the armory. Either that or with the Doc, I'll pick later today. What're you working on?"

"Lancers, IX upgrades. We got them as a gift from the Alliance for our service over Elysium a few days ago, and Kingston wants them calibrated by tomorrow _even though I told him it's impossible!_ So, here I am, spending a nice night on Earth, modifying assault rifles, while all of the other marines go out and party," he explained as I picked up a rifle and walked over to the shooting range. "Careful, that one's not-" I fired a burst, but the bullets went way off course and hit the wall behind the target, "- calibrated… yeah… People don't understand how important these things are! It can mean life or death, but noooo!" he laughed after taking the gun from me.

"I know a turian who would love your taste in calibrations," I told him while looking around. "Mind taking a look at these for me? Scored them during Elysium, not sure if I did everything correctly." I pulled my Terminator and Armageddon off of my back, leaving my only weapon left as my blade.

"Let me take a look-sees." He aimed the gun down range, adjusted the sights a bit, and fired a burst. All of the bullets fired landed with unparalleled accuracy in the center of the head of the target. "Not bad. You do this yourself?" he asked, to which I nodded. "Well, I applaud you. The attachments are tuned correctly, although Batarian weaponry isn't known for their… adaptability. Funny, you won't find a better summary of an entire species more accurate than a weapon. Slow, heavy, clunky… you got a krogan weapon. Sleek, advanced, smooth… you've got an asari. You'd be surprised how well that holds up."

"Good to know… Tell me, what're your opinions on melee combat with a sword?" I said, drawing my blade. "I jacked this from the War Museum, and… well, I don't know how to use it, to be honest. So far, I can pick it up, turn it on, swing and hope to _God_ that I hit something."

"You could've fooled me on Elysium," Crawford replied, turning back to calibrations. "While we watched you on Elysium, you must've killed ten or so Batarians with that sword alone. We assumed that was how you used it…"

"So I take it you don't know melee combat, then?"

"I'm afraid I'd do more harm than good, sorry. One of the marines, Private Jesse, has some expertise with hand to hand combat, but I'm not sure if that extends to bladed weapons. You could ask her when they get back from their 'night on the town' in Manhattan," he replied.

"I think I'll do just that." Before we could continue our conversation, I felt a sharp pain in my neck. I could feel the heat emanating from my shoulder where I had the scar from a bullet wound, and it was spreading down my arm. My joints stiffened up, and I felt significantly weaker than a few moments before.

"You okay, Thorne? You've got these… lines running up your neck, and they're like glowing red, mate. Should I get Greg down here or something?" Crawford asked as I clutched my shoulder and grimaced.

"Yeah… It's a… side effect of my biotics… no big deal," I told him while rummaging through my bag. I guess I miscalculated the three months in which I could go without injecting the Reapari into my system. The glowing cell felt warm in my hand as I gripped it and popped out the small needle and shoved it into my arm. Immediately, the stiff joins and pain in my shoulder disappeared. "Ah, much better."

"So… you really _do_ have red biotics?" Crawford asked while setting down his gun. I nodded and flared my biotics, causing the red veins to glow a bit from the flow of reapari. "Huh. We thought it was distortion in the signal, but… _wow_."

"I don't know why they're red, something about red sand mixing in with the original dose of eezo. I don't know, and honestly, I don't really care, because it's cool as hell. Kind of my trademark, I guess," I laughed, tossing around my weapons in reapari waves. We continued talking about Alliance affairs, mostly about Elysium, until we could hear a lot of loud voices above the decks. "Sounds like the marines are back."

_"Richard Thorne, please report to the CIC for debriefing." _I could hear chuckling in the background, as well as Kingston telling them to shut up. _"I repeat. Richard Thorne, please report to the CIC for debriefing."_

"Do you know what they're up to?" I asked Crawford.

"Yeah, unfortunately, I do. Better not keep them waiting."

* * *

**A/N: And that's chapter thirteen! Next chapter, we begin the travels in the Perseus Veil and maybe run into something a bit unexpected... You'll find out as soon as I post the next chapter... maybe... Mwahahaha!**


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